Contested Bankruptcy Petitions - Avoiding Pitfalls & Strengthening Applications

Introduction

Are your bankruptcy petitions giving the Court any reason to pause?

For insolvency lawyers and practitioners, a bankruptcy order remains a powerful class remedy with significant and far-reaching consequences for the debtor. At the same time, petitioning creditors must navigate a process where the recovery may be limited to pennies in the pound, while costs can quickly escalate if a petition is not properly presented.

Against this backdrop, even minor defects or gaps in evidence can give the Court grounds for concern, leading to adjournments, increased scrutiny, or adverse cost consequences. It is therefore essential that petitioning creditors present a clear, robust and well-supported case from the outset.

This new virtual classroom seminar will examine the key arguments commonly raised in contested bankruptcy petitions and identify the procedural and evidential pitfalls that continue to trip up petitioning creditors. You will gain practical insight into how to strengthen petitions and reduce the risk of delay or challenge.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• Jurisdictional challenges in bankruptcy petitions, including the application of the six statutory gateways
• Disputes as to service and their impact on the validity and progression of petitions
• Determining when a debt is unliquidated, with reference to Town and Country Property v Patel and King v Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund
• Whether claims under guarantees are sufficient to found a bankruptcy petition, considering recent authority including Davies v Revelan Estates (Wigston) Ltd, Jones v City Electrical Factors Ltd and Matthews v BSN Properties Ltd
• The enforcement and reliance on foreign judgments in bankruptcy proceedings, including Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle
• The treatment of Council Tax and NNDR liability orders and the circumstances in which adjournments may be granted to allow underlying challenges to be pursued
• The consequences of defects in petitions and when such defects may be curable or fatal
• The role of offers of security and when they may influence the Court’s discretion in contested proceedings

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.