Unfortunately, companies fail routinely. But what are the obligations of the individuals with knowledge of the affairs of the Company, or who have information of the company? Do lawyers who acted for the company need to hand over their files to the liquidator? The answer can be surprising, even (and often) for lawyers! Do accountants need to hand over their files? Do employees need to give liquidators documents? What about any other person that has documents that are ‘of’ or ‘relate to’ the company, do they need to hand them over? What if you have some knowledge of the company’s affairs (but possibly were not even associated with the company); Do you need to sit down under oath and answer questions of the liquidator? Liquidators have wide powers to require certain person to hand over documents and attend interviews under oath. However, these powers are no unfettered. There are boundaries to the power (that are not always observed by liquidators). There are also obligations on certain persons (like directors and employees) to take certain steps immediately after a liquidation, without notice.
It is important to understand:
- The obligations of the individual.
- The rights of the individual.
- What a liquidator can and cannot do in these situations (because, often, they will attempt to be opportunistic).
In this video, Brent Norling, Director of Norling Law and Damien Grant, Liquidator at Waterstone Insolvency discuss all of these issues. Here we offer perspective from a lawyer who routinely acts for and against liquidators and a liquidator. If we can be of any specific assistance, we offer a free 30-minute legal consultation which can be booked here:
