query as a creditor

JoeHel

debt_doctor wrote: »

Hi all,

Fermi as usual is spot on with the fact that personal injury claimsare outside bankruptcy but I was wondering wether the employer was a LTD company ?? if so then the liabillity would be limited to the company not the individual.

Best,

DD

I believe that the boss's company WAS a limited company (only because it was "Mr X Limited" BUT I believe that is why the solicitors sued him personally and not the company itself.

I have posted the cited legislation on another forum that I'm a regular on - a forum for solicitors - and they agree with what Fermi has stated here. The only downside is they also agree that if there's no pot available, the law is academic really!!

I'm getting in touch with my partner's solicitors on Monday to see if they've heard from the OR.

The other thing the solicitors on the other forum have suggested is suing the "no win no fee" solicitors. We gave them the full address of land that the defendant owned and they failed to register a formal charge before he sold it (AFTER the judgment against him) so we could have had our money by now, from the sale of that land...

rog2

JoeHel wrote: »

I believe that the boss's company WAS a limited company (only because it was "Mr X Limited" BUT I believe that is why the solicitors sued him personally and not the company itself.

I have posted the cited legislation on another forum that I'm a regular on - a forum for solicitors - and they agree with what Fermi has stated here. The only downside is they also agree that if there's no pot available, the law is academic really!!

I'm getting in touch with my partner's solicitors on Monday to see if they've heard from the OR.

The other thing the solicitors on the other forum have suggested is suing the "no win no fee" solicitors. We gave them the full address of land that the defendant owned and they failed to register a formal charge before he sold it (AFTER the judgment against him) so we could have had our money by now, from the sale of that land...

I think that using 'no win - no fee' solicitors can, often, be compared to a 'debtor' usingone of those IVA companies that 'promises' to 'write-off' up to 90% of all your debts - it's fine when everything is 'straightforward' and follows the path that the 'software driven program' needs in order for it to work. However, when there is the slightest 'deviation' the lack of experience/knowledge of these 'quick-fix' is exposed and they are unable to deal with a 'non-standard' situation.

In going for the person, and not the Company, they have, effectively, blocked your partner's chances of seeing anything back. Had they gone, initially for the Company, which SHOULD have had liability insurance, there would have been the 'fall-back' situation of 'going for the person'. As a director of a limited company, his liability is limited to the amount of investment that he has, in the limited company, but could have been judged personally liable if he had been negligent in failing to provide sufficient insurance cover for those working for him, whether employed or on a self-employed basis.

I do agree with the posters on the other forum, in that if there is no pot, then the question of the compensation payout is, effectively, academic.

I also feel that you may have been poorly advised/treated by the NWNF solicitors and that it will be worth investigating the value of claiming compensation from them - whether by litigation, for which you would need to take the advice of an independent solicitor, or by negotiation.

I hope that they have a better liability insurance cover than your partner's boss.

fermi

rog2 wrote: »

I think that using 'no win - no fee' solicitors can, often, be compared to a 'debtor' usingone of those IVA companies that 'promises' to 'write-off' up to 90% of all your debts - it's fine when everything is 'straightforward' and follows the path that the 'software driven program' needs in order for it to work. However, when there is the slightest 'deviation' the lack of experience/knowledge of these 'quick-fix' is exposed and they are unable to deal with a 'non-standard' situation.

This is both very true for the mass market NWNF firms, but very very wrong with regards to many independent firms of solicitors.

Like the IVA market, there are out and out vultures with the odd honest practitioner getting lost in the crowd.

rog2

fermi wrote: »

Like the IVA market, there are out and out vultures with the odd honest practitioner getting lost in the crowd.

Could not agree more, fermi. Unfortunately it will always be the 'Vultures' who get the publicity.

JoeHel

I have sent an email to my OH's solicitors today, citing the legislation posted on here. Just a one-liner in reply "I'll speak to my supervisor and get back to you". I'll let you know what they say. Thanks again.

tigerfeet2006

Hope that they have some good news for you.

silvercar

Re-read the contract you have signed with the solicitors. It may be that they are entitled to the first £X of the claim to cover their (possibly inflated) costs. So if their costs are £26k and your compensation is £21k, you would need to be able to recover more than £26k before you see a penny.

Not saying it will be like this, but worth checking.

JoeHel

silvercar, their fees were "inflated" by 100% the moment we set foot in the court room. Apparently if the defendant had settled before it went to court they would have been entitled to their clocked costs of £13k. As soon as a judge enters the room they're entitled to request 100% uplift, which they did and were given.

The defendant made an offer after judgment of £12k. The solicitors admitted they would keep all of it, so there was no incentive for my OH to accept that offer. Then the defendant filed for bankruptcy. Thing is, he took no legal advice during the whole 4 years before getting to court (because he's basically too arrogant and too miserly) and I'm pretty sure he didn't take proper advice on filing for bankruptcy either or he would have known that the personal injury award may not be written off.

JoeHel

Just a quick update. My OH's solicitor has just called and confirmed that yup, Fermi IS a genius, and my OH's personal injury award is outside the bankruptcy and will NOT be discharged in a year's time with the other creditors. The guy has gone bankrupt with debts of £80k, of which my OH's award and solicitors costs are £47k.

He's going to be mightily surprised on 18 July 2008 when he thinks he's just had £80k of debt discharged, only to receive a letter from our solicitors saying... "Hello, remember me? That'll be £47k plus two years' interest, please..."

I'm sorry if this sounds mean and I wouldn't wish bankruptcy on anyone but this guy is NOT a hardship case. He had his own business and was raking it in - he's just too arrogant, devious and miserly to do the right thing by someone who could easily have spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. :mad:

Luckily my payment plans for getting rid of the debts we've accumulated while OH hasn't been working mean that we don't actually NEED his money to get ourselves straight and by the time anything does arrive, if ever, we can do something positive with it like use it as a deposit for a house. So we can afford to play the waiting game. We have six years to get it out of him and by god we'll give it our best shot!

rog2

That looks promising for you, JH.
Don't forget to regularily check his name on the Insolvency Service Website, in case he gets Early Discharge.