Dispute Resolution Fact Sheets

Company Liquidation (Winding Up)

The Directors of a Company that cannot pay its debts can choose to put the Company into voluntary liquidation. Indeed Directors have statutory responsibilities not to permit a Company to trade insolvently. If they allow the Company to trade insolvently they can become personally liable for the debts.

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Bankruptcy

If you are in debt you can in fact apply to the Court for your own bankruptcy. You have to have sufficient money left to pay the Court fee and the Trustees deposit, but you can make yourself bankrupt. This should only be done after you have taken debt advice and generally speaking that should come from an Insolvency Practitioner or at least having seen the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) as they may be able to help you reach an informal agreement with your creditors.

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Enforcement

Once you have your judgment, the Court does not take its own action to collect the money for you. There are various applications you can instruct us to make to get the money from the debtor. The crucial issue will again be what information you have about the debtor and their financial affairs. We will charge you for the enforcement work at our hourly rates and we will discuss with you whether it is cost effective to proceed.

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Part 36 offer guide
6th October 2006
Either party can make part 36 Offers in civil disputes. They can be made before Court proceedings have been issued or whilst they are underway. If a Defendant makes a Part 36 Offer before Court proceedings are issued, that Defendant then has to pay the money that they were offering in the Part 36 Offer, into Court as soon as formal Court proceedings have been issued. The Court pending either a settlement or full Order following the full final Trial will hold the money.

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Acting for a child or patient
5th October 2006
The Court does not allow a child under 18 years of age (“a minor”) to bring Court proceedings in his or her own name. Therefore, the child has to sue through the name of an adult who is referred to as the “Litigation Friend”. The same provisions apply to patients under the Mental Health Act.

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Allocation Questionnaires and Directions in Civil Proceedings
4th October 2006
Once a Defence has been filed in proceedings in either the County or the High Court, the next stage is the filing of Allocation Questionnaires. This is a document forwarded by the Court to each side. The Court sets a deadline by which the completed document must be returned to them. 

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