Small claims court claim against holding company

[n20998]

Hi, I'm in the process of making a claim against a large organisation. The headquarters of this organisation are in UK and the 'group' is under a holding company which is also based in the UK. They operated under licences in a regulated industry - the licence holding subsidiaries are based in Malta or Gibraltar.

Am I ok to make my claim against the holding company? I did a bit of googling last night and I think it's ok based on some case law. The defendant has 'advised' that if I were to make the claim it would have to be against two of the subsidiaries (covering two aspects of their operations) which are based abroad. I'd rather avoid this as obviously it adds some complexity.

Finally, if I do make the claim against the holding company - do I need to detail in the particulars of claim why I am doing this and the case law etc that I am relying upon.

Any thoughts would be great.

[des8]

In UK law the holding company and subsidiary are separate entities, with separate legal liabilities for their actions and omissions.

Are the subsidiaries insolvent?

To what case law do you refer? Was it concerned with duty of care?

[n20998]

Hi Des

Thanks for your reply. I'm getting myself very confused about this. I saw this and thought it would mean action would be taken against the parent

https://www.burges-salmon.com/news-a...any-liability/

No the subsidiaries are not insolvent they are very much flourishing!

The claim is relating to breach of contract and potentially breach of duty of care.

[des8]

That case was to do with the duty of care owed to employees of the subsidiary and I doubt that will help you.
Lifting the corporate veil to show the relationship between the subsidiary and holding company is such that the holding company is liable for the actions of the subsidiary will be very difficult, if not impossible (and expensive).

[n20998]

Thank you that's helpful. So, it looks like I need to make the claim against the two subsidiaries whihc are out of jurisdiction.

I know I need to complete a specific form when doing this. I have a couple of follow up questions if I may

1. Can I still use money claims online or do I need to use the paper form?

2. When serving the documents, can I send them to the UK address or do I need to send them to Malta?

Thanks again for any thoughts or comments.

[des8]

if the companies have* uk offices you can serve there, and afaik there is no reason not to use MCOL (check mcol user guide)