The Court was asked whether the liability of a debtor for future payments under an income payments order (IPO) made in the debtor’s bankruptcy ranks as a provable debt in a later bankruptcy of the same debtor. The answer is provided by section 335 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the Act) if the later bankruptcy order is made before the debtor is discharged from the earlier bankruptcy. In that case, the IPO becomes an asset of the later bankruptcy and is fully enforceable by the trustee in the later bankruptcy for the benefit of that bankruptcy. The liability for future payments under the IPO is not therefore a provable debt in the later bankruptcy. However, there is no express provision dealing with the position if, as in this case, the later bankruptcy order was made after the debtor was discharged from the earlier bankruptcy.
Judges:
Lord Justice David Richards
Citations:
[2019] EWCA Civ 1289
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Insolvency
Updated: 17 July 2022; Ref: scu.639780
