Sue an individual if company no longer trading

[R0b]

I believe I do have adequate evidence of the above, which also includes publicly available company records of random and repeated chopping and changing of company name, dissolving company and then registering again, repeated resignations and reinstatements of directors and officers. There is also various news articles about the owner selling the said company for many millions and then purchasing again for a minimal amount. Also online information about another former employee reporting a criminal act carried out by the owner. He tends to have an unsavoury reputation, however he is extremely wealthy and seems to think he is above the law. I also found details of a court case between him and HMRC when he was trying to wrongfully claim expenses as a result of company being sold off, which I understand he lost the case. Could I use any of the above examples as extra evidence to support my claim?

Unless you can prove a link to the basis of your claim, I don't think the court will look much into that because if it has no relevance to your claim the court will disregard it. At best, it's no more than hearsay and the weight attached to it will depend on your claim and any inferences that can be drawn. Just as a point to note, there is currently a legal loophole in that the insolvency service is not able to pursue directors of dissolved companies, only those that are active and/or are entering a form of insolvency. The government is looking to close that loophole by allowing the IS to chase after directors and have them disqualified in the same way as any active company, up to 15 years if I recall.

I then received a letter from his solicitor stating that the relevant company is in liquidation and claiming that his other individual employees, including one who is now deceased is liable and he denies any direct liability. On companies house the business is showing as active and is currently trading with no mention of any insolvency. His denial of any liability seems ridiculous, as he is of course liable for actions of his employees.

If the company is in liquidation, then I would be asking for evidence and details of the liquidator. Otherwise, crack on. Do be aware that insolvency laws state that once a receiver or similar is appointed, you will need permission from the court to pursue your claim. That would be an application at a cost of £275 plus any costs if you lose.

I have now sent a letter of claim stating that if matters are not settled amicably I will take legal action. I also alleged that his solicitor is being complicit in attempting to deceive and mislead by claiming that random other individuals are liable, instead of the owner.

You are better off reporting the solicitor to the SRA if they are misleading and being deceitful. YOu should be careful if you are thinking of adding the solicitor as a party to the claim because fraud or deceit is not something that ordinarily falls within the small claims track if you are claiming less than £10k. It would be allocated to another track where costs are in play. There is also a high threshold for proving deceit so again you would need solid evidence of proving that or you may find yourself on the losing end of a very expensive claim.

I feel like trying to claim through the company in some way would be extremely difficult, or impossible and believe that suing him directly would be much easier. Can I do that?

You can sue the company and the director as defendants to a claim to maximise your chances of success, but you need to be certain on the legal basis for your claim. Also if the company is in the process of being struck off, you can object to the strike off such that the company remains on the register. See this link: https://www.gov.uk/object-to-a-limit...ing-struck-off

[atticus]

Reading post #13, I wonder if there might be a claim against the individual under sections 216/217 Insolvency Act 1986. We would need more details, including relevant dates of incorporation and liquidation of both companies.

[Northmark]

Unless you can prove a link to the basis of your claim, I don't think the court will look much into that because if it has no relevance to your claim the court will disregard it. At best, it's no more than hearsay and the weight attached to it will depend on your claim and any inferences that can be drawn. Just as a point to note, there is currently a legal loophole in that the insolvency service is not able to pursue directors of dissolved companies, only those that are active and/or are entering a form of insolvency. The government is looking to close that loophole by allowing the IS to chase after directors and have them disqualified in the same way as any active company, up to 15 years if I recall.


If the company is in liquidation, then I would be asking for evidence and details of the liquidator. Otherwise, crack on. Do be aware that insolvency laws state that once a receiver or similar is appointed, you will need permission from the court to pursue your claim. That would be an application at a cost of £275 plus any costs if you lose.


You are better off reporting the solicitor to the SRA if they are misleading and being deceitful. YOu should be careful if you are thinking of adding the solicitor as a party to the claim because fraud or deceit is not something that ordinarily falls within the small claims track if you are claiming less than £10k. It would be allocated to another track where costs are in play. There is also a high threshold for proving deceit so again you would need solid evidence of proving that or you may find yourself on the losing end of a very expensive claim.



You can sue the company and the director as defendants to a claim to maximise your chances of success, but you need to be certain on the legal basis for your claim. Also if the company is in the process of being struck off, you can object to the strike off such that the company remains on the register. See this link: https://www.gov.uk/object-to-a-limit...ing-struck-off

Thank you. Some of those things can definitely be linked to my claim and I believe are very relevant. I do not know much about liquidation, but presume if "dissolved" that would be similar to a bankruptcy being discharged and therefore any creditors can no longer claim against that company?

I will ask the solicitor to clarify. Should any of my communication with his solicitor be in the form of a formal letter, or is it acceptable to just send a regular email asking any questions, whilst waiting for a response to my letter of claim? I am not sure if there are any specific rules about communications?

I wasn't thinking of adding the solicitor as a party to the claim, but was planning to present that to argue against their defence if necessary. Or maybe hoping by pointing it out to them, it might encourage them to settle amicably. His solicitor would not even need to specialise in these particular areas of law to know that what he wrote on behalf of his client is wrong. My claim is relating to unpaid wages, breaches of contract, breaches of data and serious invasion of privacy, discrimination and harassment, expenses, and damages arising from workplace related injuries. The claim is for far more than £10K.

I would prefer to settle outside of court, but will take it court if I have to and don't have as much at stake to lose as he does. I do not believe the company is in the process of being struck off. I am presuming they are trying to claim that I would have no claim against the current active company (even through it is the same company), as the current registered name is slightly different?

[Northmark]

Reading post #13, I wonder if there might be a claim against the individual under sections 216/217 Insolvency Act 1986. We would need more details, including relevant dates of incorporation and liquidation of both companies.

Thank you. The company has I believe been trading for decades. The 2 company names that were dissolved happened a few years ago, around the same time he sold the business and then later purchased it again for a nominal sum, which is still the same company, just a slightly variated name.

[Northmark]

I believe parts of my claim are out of time, so would I need to ask the court for leave to pursue the claim?

I just had a thought about what you said about hearsay. I am sure I saw some of the news articles relating to these matters were also written by the owner himself, in addition to third party press articles.

[atticus]

Is there anything else you wish to drip feed?

Actually, is there any chance of you telling us the story and what this is actually about?

NB the "current active company" cannot possibly be the same company as one that has been dissolved.

[Northmark]

I don't see how I can without identifying the owner. It's a very niche and specific company.

My claim is relating to unpaid wages, breaches of contract, breaches of data and serious invasion of privacy, discrimination and harassment, expenses, and damages arising from workplace related injuries. Will that do?

Could you explain what you mean about it cannot be the same company? It is the same specific niche business/company, even the name is still the same, just with slight variation to the name, such as part of the name being dropped, or the words swapped around.

[atticus]

do the dissolved company and the "current active company" have the same registered number at Companies House?

When was the last occurrence of each of your numerous complaints? Are you aware that the limitation period for claims for damages for personal injuries is 3 years?

[Northmark]

No they don't.

I worked for the company several years ago, so most of the complaints are probably out of time, apart from the injuries which have only become apparent more recently. I believe the court may consider such claims under exceptional circumstances?

[atticus]

No they don't.

Thus showing that they are not the same company.

If your injuries only became apparent recently, you really should consult a specialist injury solicitor. One thing that has not been considered is restoring the company to the register so that a claim can be pursued against its insurers.

[Northmark]

I forgot to add my claim also includes defamation. Would a specialist injury solicitor also claim for all of the other issues mentioned, or would they just deal with the injuries only for a general fixed amount for specific injuries? I would like to combine all of the complaints in one claim, which are all related.

Is there any time limit a company can be restored for the purpose of a claim? If the amount claimed exceeded the maximum amount covered by any insurance, what would happen then?

If he had resigned as director before the company was liquidated, and then the company was restored for the purpose of making a claim, would that mean he would escape all liability?

I still believe it would be much easier to just claim directly against the owner, if that is possible, especially if I end up having to represent myself?

[atticus]

When were you defamed? Strict 1 year limitation.

No time limit for restoration. But are your other claims out of time?

Forget your obsession with the director,

[Northmark]

Just a few more thoughts. Sorry to ask so many questions. Part of my claim does involve the owner directly himself, so if I had to claim against the liquidated company and he had resigned as director before it was liquidated, I assume I could also claim against him directly in addition to the company?

Is there not any possibility at all of claiming against the solvent active company instead? I can understand the need to claim against a liquidated company if the business had ceased trading altogether, but say it was a retail business or clothing shop and a customer tripped and injured themselves, and then the company went into liquidation due to closing that store, but re-opened the exact same store in another town, under the exact same name, would the injured party not be able to simply claim against the solvent company? I understand it is a different registered company number, but is still the same business. He is still the director and owner of the solvent company.

Also I was employed on a freelance, or self-employed basis. Would that make any difference to any insurance cover? If there was no insurance cover, there are limited or insufficient assets in the company, so surely it would make more sense to claim directly from the obscenely wealthy owner?

My letter of claim has been addressed directly to the owner, although he did forward my initial email directly to the solvent company. If I had to sue the liquidated company, would I have to start the process again of sending a new letter of claim to the liquidated company?

[Northmark]

When were you defamed? Strict 1 year limitation.

No time limit for restoration. But are your other claims out of time?

Forget your obsession with the director,

Yes the claims are out of time. I would be asking the court to consider allowing my claim under exceptional circumstances. Can I do that?

I believe my claim meets the special circumstances under which a director can be sued directly.

I think he would be crazy to not want to settle outside of court and really do hope he will offer to settle.

[atticus]

What are your exceptional circumstances? Why did you not bring claims in time?