Hannah is frequently instructed by creditors, debtors, and office holders in all areas of corporate and personal insolvency both in the High Court and County Court.
In the context of corporate insolvency, Hannah has acted in matters concerning concurrent applications for administration and winding-up orders (the Lotus/Renault v HMRC litigation), winding-up petitions, injunctive relief in the insolvency context, rescission of winding-up orders, antecedent transactions, misfeasance and validation orders.
She also regularly appears in applications to set-aside statutory demands, on bankruptcy petitions, and in applications for possession and sale orders. She is known for providing a practical, efficient and cost-effective service to her clients.
Examples of recent insolvency work (2018)
- Successfully obtained an injunction to restrain presentation of a petition on the grounds that a debt was genuinely disputed and obtained an indemnity costs order in the client’s favour;
- Advised two directors on limitation in respect of claims intimated against them by an office holder under s.238 (transactions at an undervalue), s.239 (preferences) and s.212 (misfeasance) IA 1986;
- Advised a liquidator in respect of the prospects of claims against a former director and shareholder of an insolvent company under s.239 and s.212 IA 1986;
- Advised a creditor in respect of a claim for recovery by a liquidator and the prospects of an application for a validation order succeeding;
- Successfully applied to set aside a statutory demand on the grounds that there was a genuine triable issue as to whether the sum claimed as a debt constituted a loan and, if so, whether it was made to the individual debtor or a company;
- Acted in a challenge to jurisdiction upon a bankruptcy petition where the underlying debt of 1.4m arose out of a settlement agreement and the debtor spent significant portions of the year outside of the EU;
- Instructed in numerous petitions for winding up and bankruptcy successfully obtaining the orders sought.
Seminars/Training
Hannah is particularly interested in the interplay between insolvency principles and the construction industry; she has recently given seminars on ‘Construction Insolvency’ to a number of leading firms in the sector.
She also provides training for junior solicitors on the ‘basics of’ winding-up petitions and bankruptcy petitions which aims to avoid some of the common procedural pitfalls which can cause delay in insolvency litigation.