The High Court has held that Companies House was liable when it mistakenly recorded that a company which had been trading for 124 years had been wound up.
Companies House had confused the company ‘Taylor & Sons Limited’ with a different company ‘Taylor & Son Limited’. Although the names were very similar, these companies should have been easy to distinguish given that all companies have their own unique company numbers. Companies House corrected the error shortly after it was discovered, but by then it was too late – a number of people had already seen that the company was in liquidation. Due to the loss of confidence in the company by creditors and other parties, the company went into administration.
The High Court held that the Registrar of Companies (Registrar) owed a common law duty to a company against which it registers a winding-up order to take reasonable skill and care to register the order against the correct company. The duty does not include a duty to verify information supplied to the Registrar by third parties, such as insolvency practitioners, only to ensure the information is accurately recorded. Damages have not yet been awarded but it has been reported that the claim is valued at circa £8.8million.
The case is interesting as it shows that the Registrar has a duty of care and is therefore susceptible to a damages claim if it wrongly registers winding-up orders. However the judge made it clear that his finding was specific to the situation where the Registrar records a winding-up order against the wrong company and that nothing in this case should indicate how other cases brought in relation to other types of entry on the register should be decided.
Our legal experts have been busy sharing valuable expertise in their first series of free webinars for employers, and businesses across the county who missed the live events can now…
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) has thrown a much-needed lifeline to businesses experiencing cashflow difficulties as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. 17 December 2020 Today, Rishi Sunak…
The global outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the government’s resulting emergency measures have had severe implications for many businesses. Read on for answers to some frequently-asked questions on corporate &…
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through our website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use our website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies but it may affect your browsing experience on our website. You can find our cookie policy here.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for our website to function and enable core functionality such as security and accessibility. These cookies do not store any personal information. You can block these cookies by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
We use performance cookies such as Google Analytics to help us count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. For more information on how these cookies work, please see our cookie policy.