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Liquidator (law)
In law, a liquidator is the officer appointed when a company goes into winding-up or liquidation who has responsibility for collecting in all of the assets under such circumstances of the company and settling all claims against the company before putting the company into dissolution. Liquidator is a person officially appointed to 'liquidate' a company or firm. Their duty is to ascertain and settle the liabilities of a company or a firm. If there are any surplus, then those are distributed to the contributories. Origins In English law, the term "liquidator" was first used in the Joint Stock Companies Act 1856. Prior to that time, the equivalent role was fulfilled by "official managers" pursuant to the amendments to the Joint Stock Companies Winding-Up Act 1844 passed in 1848 - 1849. Powers In most jurisdictions, a liquidator's powers are defined by statute. Certain powers are generally exercisable without the requirement of any approvals; others may require sanction, either by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Company (law)
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared goals. Companies take various forms, such as: * voluntary associations, which may include nonprofit organizations * business entities, whose aim is generating profit * financial entities and banks * programs or educational institutions A company can be created as a legal person so that the company itself has limited liability as members perform or fail to discharge their duty according to the publicly declared incorporation, or published policy. When a company closes, it may need to be liquidated to avoid further legal obligations. Companies may associate and collectively register themselves as new companies; the resulting entities are often known as corporate groups. Meanings and definitions A company can be defined as an "artificial pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fraudulent Trading
In company law, fraudulent trading is doing business with intent to defraud creditors. Law Where during the course of a winding-up, it appears to the liquidator that fraudulent trading has occurred, the liquidator may apply to the court for an order any persons who were knowingly parties to the carrying on of such business are to be made liable to make such contributions (if any) to the company's assets as the court thinks proper. Conceptually, fraudulent trading is similar to a fraudulent conveyance,In the United Kingdom, see section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 but the key distinction is that an application to have a transaction set aside as a fraudulent conveyance usually requires to the third party beneficiary to disgorge the benefit of the conveyance to undo the loss to the company's assets, whereas a court order in relation to fraudulent trading it is the responsible parties (usually the directors) who must make up the loss and the third party beneficiaries will usually r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insolvency Law
In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet insolvency. Cash-flow insolvency is when a person or company has enough assets to pay what is owed, but does not have the appropriate form of payment. For example, a person may own a large house and a valuable car, but not have enough liquid assets to pay a debt when it falls due. Cash-flow insolvency can usually be resolved by negotiation. For example, the bill collector may wait until the car is sold and the debtor agrees to pay a penalty. Balance-sheet insolvency is when a person or company does not have enough assets to pay all of their debts. The person or company might enter bankruptcy, but not necessarily. Once a loss is accepted by all parties, negotiation is often able to resolve the situation without bankruptcy. A company that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provisional Liquidator
Provisional liquidation is a process which exists as part of the corporate insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions whereby after the lodging of a petition for the winding-up of a company by the court, but before the court hears and determines the petition, the court may appoint a liquidator on a "provisional" basis. (The provisional liquidator is appointed to safeguard the assets of the company and maintain the '' status quo'' pending the hearing of the petition.) Unlike a conventional liquidator, a provisional liquidator does not assess claims against the company or try to distribute the company's assets to creditors, as the power to realise the assets comes after the court orders a liquidation. In practice most instances of applications for a provisional liquidator involve some type of allegation of fraud or other misconduct relating to the company. Application Typically, an application for the appointment of a provisional liquidator is made by either: # ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions, similar to bankruptcy in the United States. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – in the United Kingdom colloquially called being "under administration" – is an alternative to liquidation or may be a precursor to it. Administration is commenced by an administration order. A company in administrative receivership is operated by an administrator (as interim chief executive with custodial responsibility for the company's assets and obligations) on behalf of its creditors. The administrator may recapitalize the business, sell the business to new owners, or demerge it into elements that can be sold and close the remainder. Most countries distinguish between voluntary (board-decided) and involuntary (court-decided) receivership. In voluntary administrative receivership, the admi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor. Bankrupt is not the only legal status that an insolvent person may have, and the term ''bankruptcy'' is therefore not a synonym for insolvency. Etymology The word ''bankruptcy'' is derived from Italian ''banca rotta'', literally meaning "broken bank". The term is often described as having originated in renaissance Italy, where there allegedly existed the tradition of smashing a banker's bench if he defaulted on payment so that the public could see that the banker, the owner of the bench, was no longer in a condition to continue his business, although some dismiss this as a false etymology. History In Ancient Greece, bankruptcy did not exist. If a man owed and he could not pay, he and his wife, children or servants were forced into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Undervalue Transaction
An undervalue transaction is a transaction entered into by a company who subsequently goes into bankruptcy which the court orders be set aside, usually upon the application of a liquidator for the benefit of the debtor's creditors. This can occur where the transaction was seriously disadvantageous to the company and the company was insolvent or in immediate risk of becoming insolvent. Overview Under ordinary principles of contract law, the courts will not generally look into the adequacy of the consideration provided by either side. However, if a company is in real peril of going bankrupt, many legal systems provide for a mechanism which allows these transactions to be unwound, so as to prevent prejudice to the creditors of the company. Normally, for a transaction to be set aside as an undervalue transaction, the liquidator or equivalent must demonstrate that: #the consideration received by the company in the transaction, in money or money's worth is significantly less than the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unfair Preference
An unfair preference (or "voidable preference") is a legal term arising in bankruptcy law where a person or company transfers assets or pays a debt to a creditor shortly before going into bankruptcy, that payment or transfer can be set aside on the application of the liquidator or trustee in bankruptcy as an unfair preference or simply a preference. Overview The law on unfair preferences varies from country to country, but characteristically, to set a transaction or payment aside as an unfair preference, the liquidator will need to show that: #the person or company was insolvent at the time the payment was made (either on the ''cash-flow'' test, or on the ''balance sheet'' test - it varies from country to country) #the person or company then went into bankruptcy within a specified time thereafter, usually referred to as the ''vulnerability period'' #the payment had the effect of putting the creditor in a better position than other unsecured creditors #in some jurisdictions, it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Champerty
Champerty and maintenance are doctrines in common law jurisdictions that aim to preclude frivolous litigation: *Maintenance is the intermeddling of a disinterested party to encourage a lawsuit. It is: "A taking in hand, a bearing up or upholding of quarrels or sides, to the disturbance of the common right." *Champerty (from Old French ''champart'') is the financial support, by a party not naturally concerned in the suit, of a plaintiff that allows them to prosecute a lawsuit on condition that, if it be brought to a successful issue, the plaintiff will repay them with a share of the proceed from the suit. In ''Giles v Thompson'' Lord Justice Steyn declared: "In modern idiom maintenance is the support of litigation by a stranger without just cause. Champerty is an aggravated form of maintenance. The distinguishing feature of champerty is the support of litigation by a stranger in return for a share of the proceeds." At common law, maintenance and champerty were both crimes and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrongful Trading
Wrongful trading is a type of civil wrong found in UK insolvency law, under Section 214 Insolvency Act 1986. It was introduced to enable contributions to be obtained for the benefit of creditors from those responsible for mismanagement of the insolvent company. Under Australian insolvency law the equivalent concept is called " insolvent trading". The Insolvency Act 1986 The principle of wrongful trading was introduced in the Insolvency Act 1986, to complement the concept of fraudulent trading. Unlike fraudulent trading, wrongful trading needs no finding of 'intent to defraud' (which requires a heavy burden of proof). Wrongful trading is therefore a less serious, and more common offence than fraudulent trading. Under UK insolvency law, wrongful trading occurs when the directors of a company have continued to trade a company past the point when they: *"knew, or ought to have concluded that there was no reasonable prospect of avoiding insolvent liquidation"; and *they did not tak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liquidation
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation. The process of liquidation also arises when customs, an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties, determines the final computation or ascertainment of the duties or drawback accruing on an entry. Liquidation may either be compulsory (sometimes referred to as a ''creditors' liquidation'' or ''receivership'' following bankruptcy, which may result in the court creating a "liquidation trust") or voluntary (sometimes referred to as a ''shareholders' liquidation'', although some voluntary liquidations are controlled by the creditors). The term ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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