Director disputes Liquidators allegations.

[Nigel823]

All this is completely new territory for me having been in business for over 30 years, I find myself and my wife being pursued by a liquidator who has made various allegations in respect of how we ran our business and what we paid ourselves to the point that they have now instigated legal proceedings against us.


What I find bizarre is there arrogance and their insistence that they are right and no matter what explanations are put forward they do not accept and are persistent in pursuing this claim right through the courts to get their five pieces of silver.


We stopped/ceased trading in the limited company in the summer of 2010 due to crazy competition, the hassle/ pressure, insufficient work and money worries.


I received written notification that I had to attend the official receiver’s office for an interview June 2011 (four hours duration) to explain why the business failed. Upon completion of this meeting I was informed that as far as the official receiver was concerned my business affairs were in order and he did not believe a liquidator would be appointed.


However that was not to be the case, I was notified late June 2011 that a liquidator had been appointed to investigate the financial affairs of the company.


Various letters where issued by the liquidator requesting clarification and information from the directors which were fully answered. The liquidator prepared their report whereby they made several unsubstantiated allegations in respect of overdrawn directors loan accounts (DLA’s) and allegations of excessive wages to the two directors.


The directors answered all of these spurious allegations and substantiated the wages paid to the directors which the liquidator had deemed excessive. Various other minor alleged discrepancies were made which again the directors answered to the best of their ability.


The liquidator was consistent insofar as they did not accept any explanation in anyway shape or form and where aggressive in their correspondence issuing threats of legal action etc. It is the directors belief that these were purely and simply bullying tactics to get them to admit guilt and agree to pay huge amounts of money which no doubt would be swallowed up by the liquidators fees.


At this point it is prudent to point out that when the liquidator prepared their statement of account, June 2013 they stated ‘that based upon the present information it was unlikely that there would be any distribution to unsecured creditors.’ Therefore my question would be who are they working on behalf of?


The liquidator duly appointed a firm of solicitors to issue legal action against the directors (by the way this was served just before Christmas, how nice of them!) which has resulted in the following court appearances:


February 2014.

· This was an application notice for directions which the judge ordered the respondents to serve their defence by March 6, 2014.

· The liquidator then had the right to reply to the respondent’s evidence by April 3, 2014.

· A Case Management Conference was then arranged to take place May 2014.

May 2014.

· I attended court whereby the applicant had applied for a disposal hearing which we objected to and the judge agreed to our request for a full hearing, the date to be set in the next few months.


So now I’m in the position where I have various options I can give up, rollover and let them have their way with me or I can fight them tooth and nail, I’m inclined to do the latter.


So any advice would be welcome and I shall certainly be carrying out plenty of research on forums and law advice sites.


One thing that strikes me is whilst I’m not legally trained, I thought that in English law we were deemed to be innocent until proven guilty and I would have thought that the onus was on the liquidator to prove their case.


The allegations are basically that the directors were in actual fact guilty of not carrying out their financial judiciary for the company, surely they have to prove this, and not the directors have to prove their innocence against what amounts to the liquidator’s personal opinion.


As we are all aware anyone can paint a picture which we wish to portray and certainly in our case the liquidator and their solicitors are attempting to ensure that the court believes that we are guilty of all their allegations.


I look forward to hearing from anyone who has had experience in unfortunate circumstances such as this and can offer my wife and me some support thank you.


Kind regards


Nigel

 

[josaswaste-andre]

In civil courts the claimant has to prove on the balance of probabilities (51%) that their accusations are true.
Then there is the issue of what are they claiming for ?

 

[Nigel823]

thanks Andre, yes they allege that the directors owe the business £53,000 which they allege is excessive salaries, however I have substantaited our rate of pay using published figures within the public domain ie: average salary specific to our business. The liquidator has simply stated 'excessive salary' with nothin to back it up.

Dispappointing that they only have to get to the probability of 51%

I need to devise a stratagey to defend myself

 

[josaswaste-andre]

No strategy is needed. The "court" is actually two parties on each side of the table and a "Judge" in a suit at the top behind his desk. He will then ask you some questions and ask them some.

is the £53k your full salaries? If so how can the whole salary be excessive?

Who is named as the claimant?

 

[Nigel823]

whilst I stated that I need a strategy I am still of the opinion that I need to prepare myself to ask specific questions of the Applicant (liquidator) to ensure the DJ appreciates that what they allege is one thing, the facts of the matter however are what we did in 'real time' in our attempt to continue trading, this is not in a sterile classroom environment nor did we have the benefit of a crystal ball.

No the £53k was not our joint salary, the applicant (liquidator alleges that over a two year period my wife was overpaid £12k & I was overpaid circa £26k plus. The balance they question certain credits/debits which they do not accept our explanations. They have not substantiated the salary argument apart from they use the word 'excessive'.
Basically it is my view that they are throwing as much mud as possible with a view that the DJ will accept some of it, my thoughts are they are the lowest of the lowest bottom feeders & they will have to be pretty convincing & work if they wish to have a piece of my a**!

 

[josaswaste-andre]

I hope you have counter claimed?

With regards excessive how can they define an excessive wage when it is your business. At the time your business could sustain that wages to it was justified as opposed to excessive. When things got slow im sure your wages may well have taken a hit too.

There is no big red book of "normal" salaries and as such excessive is down to opinion. With regards credits and debits make sure you keep the responses you provided to them. Maybe seek to have them struck out as vexatious litigants. bringing a case without a real prospect of success.

 

[martin_frost]

Firstly, take a deep breath, step back, assess the situation in a logical and clinical matter. Dont allow your emotion to affect your judgement.

I for one, if I knew the claim was unfounded I would defend it to my dieing breath.

 

[Nigel823]

I hope you have counter claimed?

With regards excessive how can they define an excessive wage when it is your business. At the time your business could sustain that wages to it was justified as opposed to excessive. When things got slow im sure your wages may well have taken a hit too.

There is no big red book of "normal" salaries and as such excessive is down to opinion. With regards credits and debits make sure you keep the responses you provided to them. Maybe seek to have them struck out as vexatious litigants. bringing a case without a real prospect of success.

I wasn’t aware that I could issue a counterclaim as this is not an actual summons to court it is more of a claims management, that’s certainly what it appears to be at the moment. However I have got the court to agree to a full hearing so may be that will create an opportunity… Further comments or advice on this would be useful.

They allege that our salaries were excessive purely with the benefit of hindsight they sit in judgement now that the company failed. Therefore my opinion what the liquidator is doing is using this knowledge as a way to criticise the directors after the event. However you are correct as the business suffered I didn’t actually draw my full salary, this was only offset against my DLA when I was instructed to prepare up-to-date accounts for my interview with the official receiver. The liquidator alleges that this was in fact illegal to offset the unpaid wages against directors DLA. Which I totally dispute as far as I’m aware it is reasonable to issue a contra charged for unpaid bills.

I fully agree with your opinion as far as “normal” salaries are concerned and I have stated that within my witness statement together with documented average salaries for directors within my industry. Surprisingly the liquidator chooses to totally ignore this evidence.

The credits and debits were made up of intercompany charges which again I have fully explained yet the liquidator is adamant that these are not justifiable. Indeed your suggestion to ask the court to strike the claim out as vexatious litigants is a fantastic angle to adopt, when I have answered all their allegations in detail yet they refuse to acknowledge or accept.

Thanks for your comment so far.

 

[Nigel823]

Firstly, take a deep breath, step back, assess the situation in a logical and clinical matter. Dont allow your emotion to affect your judgement.

I for one, if I knew the claim was unfounded I would defend it to my dieing breath.

Martin thanks for your advice, as you may appreciate I have had many opportunities (sleepless nights) to take a deep breath and consider my options.

Emotions are personal to the individual yet you are absolutely correct that I need to remain focused on the allegations and answer them in professional manner... difficult at times when dealing with people such as this liquidator!

As previous my opinion is that the liquidator is in it for their own personal financial gain and they don’t give a hoot about the unsecured creditors my wife, family or myself… in a word greed!

Yes I agree with your sentiments, yet I need to consider the potential repercussions hence posting on forums such as this.

I really appreciate the time you guys are taking and welcome more advice thank you.

 

[josaswaste-andre]

I have also found that if you are unsure you should say nothing.. if they accuse you of something dont say "i did this because" but say explain what makes you feel this" or similar.. or you can drop yourself in it.

With regards DLA i would feel that it would have been no different to you paying your wage of £10k in a month then loaning that to the company.I dont see how it could be "illegal" what would be illegal about it? ie its not fraud so not the Fraud Act, its not theft.

With regards emotion i deal an emotive business (parking enforcement) and people call up and call me every name under the sun. I just say thank you for calling all the details on how to appeal are on the ticket if it is unpaid may take legal action. Thank you for your call good by" that really riles people btu i dont let anyone get me hecked ujp and you should not let them do it either.

If you cant counter claim then issue them an LBA for harrassment and damages and follow up witha court summons. From the salary you paid yourselves before calculate your daily rate then times it by how many days you have dealt with their spurious claims.

Then follow up with the court claim.

 

[Nigel823]

Andre, great advice that I shall try and refrain from saying things such as “because” and put the onus back on them to explain fully “why they believe their allegations are the case”.

Thank you for your interpretation in respect of the DLA which is not similar to my own opinion yet the liquidator continues in their attempt to bully and threaten me into submission. I am prepared to let the DJ decided ultimately.

Yes I appreciate the difficulties when we let our emotions take over, as a rule of thumb I always respond to any allegations and review the following day prior to issuing, generally with some amendments! However latterly I did take to getting more sarcastic with them as I think they are pretty stupid and sometimes have difficulty reading letters. Ultimately I told them “put up or shut up” as I had had enough of their threatening letters repeating the same old shit unfortunately they “put up” hence the court action!

I shall look into whether I can issue a counterclaim and if not I shall issue an LBA for harassment and damages and threaten them with a court summons, now that would be fun!

 

[Alan R Price]

Nigel

Speaking as an insolvency practitioner, I would say that these things are never straightforward, and while there may be some element of the liquidator trying to bully you (regrettably, it does happen), since the amounts involved are substantial, you would be better off taking advice from a specialist solicitor, rather than looking for solutions on an Internet forum. I am uneasy about some of the advice you have had so far, and believe you could be risking running up adverse costs that you will, ultimately, have to pay. I am not at all convinced by the "equivent to salary" argument (which I never had argued successfully against me), which only applies in a very limited and specific set of circumstances.

I really do recommend finding an expert to advise you.

 

[Nigel823]

Alan

thanks for your advice & I appreciate the points raised.

I fully appreciate your comment "things are never as straight forward" & confirm that I have spoken to an Insolvency practioner who suggested that they would write on my behalf to the liquidator, the stumbling block was £500 + Vat as an intial cost. My thoughts on this were also that this could show them that I had access to funds & 'wet their appetite.'

Trouble is I can't afford it, apart from the hassle I am getting from the liquidator I have defaulted on my credit cards circa £60k(property investment) entered into a plan with the fantastic help of the CCCS (now Step Change, would thoroughly reccommend them, wonderful :- people to deal with) and have temporarly got them of my back.

I have written to their solicitors & told them all about my finances & my property investments, I had assumed that they would have exercised due diligence & investigated what interests I had, clearly they hadn't done this so when I gave them the info, they automatically assumed that the properties were mortgage free!

Thick or what! I pointed out the error of their ways which actually showed we were in negative equity & if they pushed all they would achieve would be my bankruptcy & they would get sweet FA! Yet they still pursue me...why?

Advice i was given was to make them an offer, say £10k or so, but I can't afford to pay them anything, all I could do would be to add them to my creditors list, I currently pay them all a token £1.00/month.

Options at this stage would certainly include filing for bankruptcy & starting with a clean sheet...

And finally just to 'rub salt in the wound' I have a PG to the bank which was around £20k have reduced this to circa £11k currently paying nominal £1/month.

So as you can see not the best place to be at the moment.

Regards

Nigel

 

[Spongebob]

Nigel,

The latest information you have given us changes the situation somewhat.

With personal liabilities in excess of £60k and by the sound of it, few assets, you are perfectly placed to fight this battle through the courts without representation in the safe knowledge that should you lose you can simply go bankrupt and stick two fingers up at them. I'd be tempted to string it out and make it as expensive as possible for them, having a whole bunch of fun in the process, but I would understand if you decided that you'd had enough already.

Bankruptcy in middle age is certainly not the end of the world. My dad went bankrupt in his sixties and he and my mum have never been happier or had more disposable income in their lives. It is amazing how cheaply you can live when you don't have any debt!

 

[Nigel823]

Spongebob

Thanks for taking the time to comment on my predicament, I truly welcome all the advice I am receiving via the forum, it really is inspiring.

As you can appreciate there is always more to it & whilst I could do without the aggro I am quite prepared to attend court & put my case forward. What I can’t get my head around is that they haven’t backed off even when I have substantiated my financial position.

So as far as I am concerned I shall ‘string it out’ & let them incur their costs along the way & hopefully antagonise them in doing so. As you point out the worst case scenario is I go bankrupt, discharge all liabilities & rise from the ashes in due course, not forgetting the pleasure of giving them the ‘proverbial finger’ along the way.

The down side would be I could/would loose my primary residency which wouldn’t be great; any advice on protecting this would be useful.

As for your dad going bankrupt in his sixties you clearly have personal experience of this, what I re-iterate to my better half is, I tell her its only money & we will survive & prosper elsewhere.

Nigel

 

[Alan R Price]

Nigel

It sounds like brinkmanship by the liquidator. He perhaps thinks that, even if you have demonstrated you have no significant estate, you will find some money if he presses hard enough. I'd seriously consider going bankrupt. It might mean having to sell your house, but sometimes a fresh start can kick-start a lot of other things. Not having to worry about how you are going to pay your debts can be a great weight off your shoulders, and give you time to think about new ventures, or simply getting a job and letting somebody else take the strain for a while.

 

[Nigel823]

Alan

thank you for your comments and yes I would tend to agree that the liquidator is applying brinkmanship with the hope that sooner or later I will submit a cash offer.

Sadly this will not be the case and as spongebob suggested if they are not prepared to accept my honesty in disclosing my financial position, well in my opinion they deserve to incur their own financial losses, that is assuming they win in court.

As for going personally bankrupt it is a serious consideration, yet I believe for most people in my position this would always be the last roll of the dice. Assuming a fair wind I probably have circa £100,000 equity in my primary residence which clearly I would lose. Not a great prospect to consider (by the way I have not disclosed this to the liquidator).

From a positive point of view I can see your point of view insofar as this could give me an opportunity for a fresh start without any debts to worry about and move forward to new opportunities.

I guess when I first posted on the forum I knew the answers but felt it was worthwhile to learn from others who have experienced similar issues.

Thank you for all the positive comments and interest shown.

Nigel

 

[Alan R Price]

Sorry, you haven't previously mentioned you have £100,000 equity - now I can see why the liquidator is taking the line he is - I would do exactly the same if I considered I had a valid claim; and my earlier advice to you would have been rather different. I appreciate that you do not consider he can substantiate his claim, however he can see a pot at the end of the rainbow. The court also clearly believes there is a triable issue, otherwise it would have dismissed the liquidator's application out of hand.

As I say above, I am uncomfortable with some of the advice you have been given so far, and I reiterate my recommendation you take expert advice immediately. Your equity, which is on the line, is £100,000. You say however that £500 is too much to pay for advice - this is 0.5% of the value of your asset. I say you can't afford not to take advice.

Is there anything else about your personal assets and liabilities we ought to know?

 

[Nigel823]

Alan

Thanks for your advice, my thoughts are:

That they don't/wouldn’t know what if any equity we have in our primary residency. Due to the fact that when I disclosed my property portfolio interest they didn’t exercise due diligence in establishing whether or not they (the properties held within the property portfolio) were in fact mortgaged or mortgage free.

Why do you think that the court believes that the liquidator has a reasonable case? All we have done so far is establish dates for statements to be served. The last hearing date which the liquidator applied for a disposal hearing I successfully defended & the court has agreed to a full hearing. Surely only when this is heard can the court make a decision.

What is your opinion in applying to have the case thrown out based upon a vexatious claimant?

Good point when you do the calculations based upon the held equity. In fairness I am not sure what a solicitor can suggest at this stage, apart from make them an offer. But I shall discuss the idea with my wife who is really struggling with the potential threat hanging over us.

No that’s it, you have the full details.

Again many thanks for your opinion, time & effort.

Kind regards

Nigel

 

[Red Wood]

This may sound like a stupid question, but how the hell can a third party deem whether a salary is too much, surely you can pay yourself what ever you choose as long as the company can afford it?!?!

 

[UK Contractor Accountant]

Have a read - 2001 case, not sure if it still has relevance (AP might know more)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bednash_v_Hearse

 

[kelvin1950]

Correct URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bednash_v_Hearsey

 

[Charlie B ACS]

That they don't/wouldn’t know what if any equity we have in our primary residency. Due to the fact that when I disclosed my property portfolio interest they didn’t exercise due diligence in establishing whether or not they (the properties held within the property portfolio) were in fact mortgaged or mortgage free.

The Land registry is public information, you can find out if there is a charge / mortgage on a property for a few pounds.

If there is no mortgage, they probably know that!

 

[Nigel823]

Alex

thank you for your comments and clearly we think along the same lines.

However the liquidator is far cleverer than you and I and deems that the wages were excessive, without any substantiation other than their opinion. Within my defence I have stated that with the benefit of hindsight this is very easy to allege.

Let's face it in all honesty the liquidator is in it for their own financial gain period.

Regards
Nigel

 

[Nigel823]

Charlie

I appreciate your comment and would say that in my opinion they clearly didn't invest the few pounds to find out whether or not my property portfolio interests where mortgaged.

I would also take the same opinion in respect of my primary residence because if they did they would have discovered that it is mortgaged but not know to what extent.

In both instances though I have disclosed the outstanding mortgages and yet they still seem to think I'm hiding something!

Nigel

 

[Nigel823]

Kelvin

Thank you for the link, not what I really wanted to hear but useful information nonetheless.

Wonder if there are any cases whereby the director successfully defended these spurious allegations.

Nigel

 

[Alan R Price]

The liquidator probably believes you have assets he can attack (which is correct), hence his approach.

The court has reviewed the initial paperwork and my understanding is that it would have made it perfectly clear at this stage if it thought the liquidator was wasting its time with a spurious claim. It would be a very dangerous step for the liquidator to carry on if he did not believe he could convince the court he is correct, because he could be made personally liable for the costs.

As regards the vexatious litigation issue, a litigant has to have a long history of wasting the court's time with spurious litigation before he is declared vexatious. It happens very rarely. Have a look at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...ta/file/256116/vexatious_litigants_policy.pdf

 

[Nigel823]

Thanks Alan for the comments, not sure why you believe the liquidator believes their are assets when I have clarified my personal financial position. Even if they carried out a search at the land registry on my personal residence, all this would show was that it was mortgaged & to whom, not the actual value of the mortgage. They evidently didn't do one in respect of the property portfolio.

Thats interesting that the court will have carried out a review, albeit I assume a cursory one in respect of the claimants allegation. However thats not to say that I can argue my case when we attend for the full hearing. I guess no DJ would throw a case such as this out without a hearing as the claimant would most likely appeal/object & the court has got to be seen to be acting in a diligent manner, not like this particular liquidator.

Having read the article i can appreciate your opinion in any attempt to have the case struck out as the claimant is a vexatious litigant, I wonder could I find a list of cases which this liquidator has issued against former directors? As far as I am aware this is their niche business ie: trawling cases in the hope of 'rattling a few jars' to create income. As for them harrassing me I truly believe they have met this criteria, they haven't accepted any explanation i have submitted, stubborn would be the polite word?

Nigel

 

[Charlie B ACS]

Nigel,

It would also show the date of the Mortgage, which can give an idea of the amount of equity in a property (Re-mortgages with the same company would throw a spanner to that)

To play devils advocate; Whilst you can see your explanation as plausible & fair, it may be viewed by someone else as lies /excuses / bluster. Hence them wanting to push it to court to decide.

If you are honest with yourself, if the situations were reversed, would you accept it at face value?

 

[Alan R Price]

It's likely the liquidator will have carried out a Land Registry search and thinks there is enough to take a pot-shot at. It seems you are you saying you have not told him the truth in regard to your personal financial position, so if it came to the court finding against you, it might cause you problems.

As I said earlier, I am still not convinced by the "salary" argument, and you will see from the "Hearsey" case that the defendant was only partially successful in defending the liquidator's claim. The court will look at when the company became insolvent and what actions the directors took after that time. Remember that insolvency has two tests: liabilities (including contingent and prospective liabilities) exceeding assets or inability to pay debts on time. As the judge said in Hearsey: "In the last analysis, it seems clear that the reasonableness or not of the remuneration as a whole is not the decisive factor. The question is whether, in the particular circumstances, the company can afford to pay it, and whether the decision to do so has or has not amounted to gross negligence. . ." and, ". . . it is not necessary to show that the liquidation has been caused by the excessive payments. The test is . . . whether the payment complained of was, in the particular circumstances, grossly negligent and made without a due regard for the finances of the company." Are you enough of an expert in law to pronounce upon the matter?

I am not aware of any way you can search for legal actions the liquidator has previously been involved in, although that doesn't mean there isn't one.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Would not the land registry show the lien on the house?

 

[skinskan]

Nigel - I can't offer any better advice than above and I genuinely wish you all the best with your situation and keeping it all crossed that it works in your favour. I know how stressful this must be for you but hope you derive some comfort from Spongebob's posting about his mum and dad...you will get through this and you will be okay and I don't mean that to be patronising in the slightest. From all your postings you are made of strong stuff and to be in business for 30 years is no mean feat so congratulations on that think of all the benefits you bought to the economy, all the suppliers and customers you have made a difference to over the years. Although, it can be difficult not to be bitter that having achieved all you did that suddenly there is no thanks for that but be proud of what you did and will accomplish in future. Obviously, I have no idea how old you are but I have a friend in California who started his own small vineyard at the age of 68 and 20 years later still going strong so if you haven't already, start thinking about your next life phase and what you plan to do. Give yourself something to look forward to, go crazy! All those skills you have use them for something else.

Good Luck!

 

[Nigel823]

Charlie B,

Yes that’s a fair point you make bearing in mind we have had a mortgage since 1992 on the house, however it has been re-mortgaged several times to pull equity out & buy the BTL’s.

Absolutely understand that liquidators will be used to getting the run around & not the whole truth, most likely a significant time, but all I can do is act as I would normally do, truthfully.

Good point & my answer would be that I would consider each case on its own merit, but yes I can see the point of view a 3rd party might take.

Thanks for your comments I appreciate them.

Regards

Nigel.

 

[Nigel823]

Alan,

Well whether they have completed a land registry search is neither here or there now, I will deal with it as necessary. I don’t agree with you in respect of “not told him the truth in regard to your personal financial position” I have been absolutely truthful in respect of the property portfolio, at no time have they requested financial information in respect of our primary residence.

I appreciate your opinion in respect of my salary argument & concede that the “Hearsey” case doesn’t paint the brightest picture, but my position is, this is my defence & I shall have to run with it, difficult as it may be.

I shall endeavour to research the particular liquidator & see what I can uncover, google is a phenomenal resource.

Thanks for taking the time to comment on my situation, if nothing else I am learning more & more as I go along this lonely path.

Regards

Nigel.

 

[Nigel823]

Chris Ashdown,

My experience when re-searching property will only identify whether the property has a mortgage & any 2nd charges on it, not the actual amount outstanding.

Regards

Nigel.

 

[Nigel823]

Skinscan,

Many thanks for your best wishes, I truly appreciate it.

Stress takes many forms but ultimately it’s not a pleasant experience we are going through at the present & yes Spongebob’s post ref his parents does help an awful lot.

I am a firm believer in what is right and wrong and I truly believe this particular liquidator is a nasty piece of work (that’s being polite!) & if they are to win anything well they will have to fight b****y hard for it, I am not one for lying down & let them walk all over me.

Thanks for the praise, I guess most business owners/directors are made of similar stuff, it, in my opinion is the minority who paint the bad picture ie: company directors just set out to screw their suppliers/creditors, not the reality.

Well that’s inspirational as I am early 50’s (wow that sounds really old!) so I have an awesome opportunity, how about beach, sunshine, long cool drink and no liquidators harassing me, sounds like a plan!

Now where is that holiday brochure?

Regards

Nigel.

 

[Charlie B ACS]

Nigel,

You come across, on here, at least, an honest bloke. Which usually carries a great deal with a judge, who tend to be fairly shrewd.

I wish you luck, and a prompt conclusion.

Regards

Charlie

 

[Newchodge]

May I make a suggestion.

You come across, as Charlie says, as an honest bloke.

You also come across as someone who feels personally persecuted by the liquidator. You are going to get information about them; you want them struck out as a vexatious litigator, they have it in for you.

While I fully understand how you might well come to feel this way, you need to put those feelings behind you. Ignore the liquidator as a person. Concentrate on the CASE. Get your evidence together about the company's income and profit levels while you were paying these salaries; defend the company's position with regard to dates of trading and ceasing to trade.

If you see this as a crusade against the liquidator you are more likely to fail to put together your evidence. The court is not interested in whether the liquidator is being particularly aggressive against you, they are interested in the evidence produced by both sides. Producing a list of the cases where this liquidator has been aggressive or has failed, or, indeed, has won, will mean nothing to the court.

Work out exactly what your defence is and produce the evidence to support it.

Anything else is a distraction.

 

[kelvin1950]

I'd agree with Cyndy. As you're just a youngster Nigel, I'll remind you of one thing: don't get mad, get even.

 

[Nigel823]

Charlie

thanks for the kind words & lets hope when I get my opportunity in front of the DJ they will appreciate the facts as they happened, not as the liquidator would have them believe.

Enjoy the bank holiday w/end, off to a BBQ time for a beer or two...

Kind regards

Nigel