The company sought to recover from the defendants, two former directors.
Held: The claim was statute barred.
Hodge QC dealt with the claimant’s reliance on section 32: ‘That leaves the claimant’s reliance upon section 32. There the difficulties that the claimant faces are that there are no facts sufficiently asserted to give rise, in my judgment, to any realistic prospect of relying upon either limb of section 32 of the 1980 Act. Given the knowledge and involvement on the part, in particular of the company’s auditors, I fail to see how it can be asserted either (1) that there was any deliberate commission of a breach of duty on the part of the defendants; or (2) that there had been any deliberate concealment from the claimant company of facts relevant to the claimant’s alleged right of action. I am afraid, from Mr Latimer’s point of view, that I just do not see how the claimant company can begin to get home in relation to either of those matters. In view of the involvement of the accountants and solicitors, there is no realistic prospect of establishing either the deliberate commission of a breach of duty or the deliberate concealment of any fact relevant to the claimant’s right of action.’
Judges:
Hodge QC HHJ
Citations:
[2014] EWHC 3356 (Ch)
Links:
Statutes:
Companies Act 2006, Limitation Act 1980 2(1)(b) 32
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – Burnden Holdings (UK) Ltd v Fielding and Another CA 17-Jun-2016
The company, now in liquidation sought to claim for the alledged misapplication by former directors of its funds in 2007. It now appealed against a summary rejection of its claim as time barred.
Held: The appeal succeeded. Section 21(1)(b) . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Company, Trusts, Limitation
Updated: 18 July 2022; Ref: scu.538050