How to substitute or add a defendant - small claims track

[rodneysimons]

We are in the process of filing a claim using Money Claim Online. I initially only included one defendant in the claim. New information has come to light to indicate that the defendants business partner was probably more liable for the action than the defendant I named. Is it possible to add or substitute a defendant? if so, how do I do it?

The defendant has file a defense disputing my claim. As the claimant, I have until the 5th March to complete the small claims directions questionnaire.

[Amethyst]

Are you claiming against a Ltd company or soletrader/ partnership ? If you want to give a brief overview of the claim/issue it would help give you the right information what to do next.

Has the defendant disputed he is the right party to be claiming against ?

[rodneysimons]

I am claiming against the director of a LTD company that is now in voluntary liquidation ..... the story is below

1 year ago we paid a deposit to a catering company for a wedding in January 2018. The company was run by a husband and wife. The husband was the sole director of the company, while the wife took care of running the business and booking events.

The marriage broke down and the husband placed the company into creditor voluntary liquidation in November 2017.

Although the husband was the director of the company, he did not maintain any financial records and as a result I was not notified that the company was in liquidation.

The wife continued to trade under the same business name after liquidation and solicited the balance of the payment before the wedding to a different bank account and then failed to show up to the event.

If I had known that the company was in liquidation, I would not have made the final payment.

My argument is as follows:
As a company director the husband had a duty to maintain financial records including maintaining a list of deposits paid into the company for future events. If he kept to his legal duty, he would have known that I was a creditor of the company and subsequently would have notified me of the meeting of creditors. Because of his failure, I subsequently was defrauded by his wife.

The defendant has disputed the claim, saying he knew nothing of this and it was his wife that defrauded me. At the time of lodging the claim, I took action only against the husband as I saw him as the owner of the business. It appears now that I should have either included both the husband and wife in the claim or only the wife. That is why I was seeing if I can amend my application or do I just need to drop it and start again with a claim against the wife.