The High Court has rejected BW’s application to show cause against the validity of an adjudication of bankruptcy, finding that the debt specified in the bankruptcy summons was due when the summons issued.
Mr Justice O’Moore delivered judgment on 4 November 2022. BW’s motion, dated 2 November 2021, argued that the sum claimed was disputed and overstated, and that the alleged act of bankruptcy did not occur in circumstances where the amount demanded was correct.
The summons, issued on 19 December 2016, demanded €249,135.85 based on two High Court judgments. Revenue later acknowledged a double claim of €13,501.52; after a €1,000 payment, the amount attributable to those two judgments was overstated by €12,501.52. BW argued that judgments not identified in the bankruptcy documents could not be used later to support the demand.
Revenue relied on additional judgments: €54,227.39 awarded by the Circuit Court on 12 May 2016 and €16,001.41 by the District Court on 9 September 2016. The judge noted that the summons amount was due at the relevant time when those judgments were also taken into account. BW began paying tax on returns relating to the estimates behind those judgments from June 2018, with that process continuing until August 2019. Revenue’s evidence also said €2,940.45 in interest remained outstanding in relation to those returns.
The court rejected BW’s separate contention that an agreement with a solicitor acting for Revenue governed the proceedings. Mr Justice O’Moore agreed with the earlier finding that any such agreement was unsupported by consideration, and said BW had not meaningfully challenged that conclusion.
On the disputed amount, the judge said the requirement was that the sum demanded in the summons be due. He found that requirement was met. Relying on an earlier High Court decision, he held that judgments omitted from the demand or summons could be considered when assessing whether the sum claimed was actually due. He concluded that BW had not shown cause against the validity of the bankruptcy adjudication. The judgment records that conclusion; it does not make a new bankruptcy adjudication.