The bankrupt had received his discharge from the bankruptcy and the debts associated. After the discharge he received a statutory demand from the trustees of a pension fund claiming sums from him alleging his dishonest breach of trust. He replied by saying that he had been discharged.
Held: To constitute a ‘fraudulent breach of trust’ under the Act, the behaviour had to have been deliberate and dishonest. An alternative view would have been against the spirit behind the 1986 legislation. The Financial Services Ombudsman had made a finding that he had been in ‘wilful default’ but that was not so equivalent a finding as to allow an estoppel as to whether he had acted fraudulently. The debt was in dispute, and the statutory demand was set aside.
Judges:
Mr Justice Ferris
Citations:
Times 17-Jul-2002
Statutes:
Insolvency Act 1986 281(1) 281(3)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Insolvency, Estoppel
Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.174374