In Pleading Issues: Pick Your Battles, a recent article in the New Law Journal, Daniel Lightman KC and Charlotte Beynon offer insight into the approach taken by the courts to the pleading of claims under sections 212 and 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986.  They consider in particular the landmark judgment of Edwin Johnson J in Chandler v Wright [2022] EWHC 2205 (Ch) (recently reported as In re BHS Group Ltd (in liquidation) [2022] Bus LR 1510), in which he reaffirmed that causation and quantum are essential elements of a cause of action under section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986, as they are for breach of duty claims under section 212, and that it is essential for liquidators to plead these elements.  

Daniel and Charlotte also discuss the issue, considered by Edwin Johnson J in his judgment, of whether a specific ‘knowledge’ date or dates for the purposes of a section 214 claim must be pleaded or whether the issue of the date of knowledge can remain ‘at large’ in a case of the magnitude and complexity of the BHS case.  

With Tim Benham-Mirando, they represent Mr Chandler, a former director of the BHS group of companies, in proceedings brought by the liquidators for alleged wrongful trading and misfeasance, the trial of which, due to start in November 2023, is one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2023.

Please click here to view the article.