The trustee in bankruptcy appealed against rejection of his claim for the sale of the home in which the bankrupts each held a one half share. The bankruptcies arose from non payment of council tax. The principle sums had been repaid, and the outstanding matters were the trustee’s costs. The bankrupts had not co-operated, and the normal automatic discharge had been suspended. The only substantial asset was the family home which had sufficient equity. The bankrupt and his wife both faced serious medical issues, and the husband lacked capacity. The District judge had made adverse comments about costs being unnecessarily accrued by the methods of enforcement chosen by Oxford City Council.
Held: The district judge should not have gone behind the making of the bankruptcy order. An order was made for the sale subject to a delay of one year to allow the bankrupts opportunity to manage their affairs.
. A bankrupt’s needs will include his financial, medical, emotional and mental requirements. The definition had not previously been tested in the courts. The judge may have fallen into error when placing such weight on the medical needs of the person living with the bankrupt.
Judges:
Henderson J
Citations:
Times 14-Jul-2009, [2009] EWHC 1219 (Ch), [2010] BPIR 567, [2010] Ch 170, [2010] 2 WLR 637
Links:
Statutes:
Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, Insolvency Act 1986 335A, Insolvency Act 1986
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Wright and Another (Liquidators of SHB Realisations Ltd) v The Prudential Assurance Company Ltd ChD 6-Mar-2018
IVA is a special form of contract
Liquidators asked the court whether sums sought by the insolvent company’s landlords were payable and or provable. Under an IVA, the copany had been paying reduced rents, but the arrangement document provided that the full rents would be restored on . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Insolvency, Land, Insolvency, Rating
Updated: 18 August 2022; Ref: scu.416193
