Directors – When Are They Personally Liable?

Directors – When Are They Personally Liable?

Particularly in hard times, it is not at all uncommon to find yourself unable to recover a debt from a company in financial straits whilst at the same time you know that its directors hold assets in their own names. Can you attack them personally? The answer is founded in the centuries-old concept of companies as separate legal entities or “juristic persons”. They trade in their own names and have their own assets and liabilities, so as a rule directors will not be personally liable for a company’s debts unless either – They signed personal suretyship for them, or They…
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Directors: Reckless Trading and Personal Liability in the Time of Coronavirus

Directors: Reckless Trading and Personal Liability in the Time of Coronavirus

The COVID-19 pandemic and its ongoing economic fallout have left many businesses struggling with cash flow and even viability challenges. The result is that an increasing number of companies are either trading in insolvent circumstances, or in grave danger of doing so. Reckless trading and your risk of personal liability To quote from the Companies Act (section 22(1)): “A company must not carry on its business recklessly, with gross negligence, with intent to defraud any person or for any fraudulent purpose.” And per section 77(3) any director “is liable for any loss, damages or costs sustained by the company as…
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