A Practical Guide to Void Dispositions and Validation Orders

Void dispositions in England and Wales under the Insolvency Act 1986 are amongst the most common and mundane of insolvency related claims that lawyers and insolvency practitioners are likely to see. Nearly any person, corporate or real, who holds and exchanges assets and is made insolvent by order of the court is likely to have a number of dispositions of property that are subsequently caught and rendered void by operation of the Insolvency Act 1986 with no further action needing to be taken. Such void dispositions are a regular feature for those acting on both sides of a void disposition, and the claims and defences available, or applications to validate void dispositions, are not immediately intuitive, and require specialist knowledge. This book aims to provide a basic introduction to the special nature of these most regular of insolvency claims, and provide the legal or insolvency practitioner with practical guidance for how to identify, recover, defend, or validate void dispositions. It covers the basics of what is a void disposition by breaking down the constituent elements, sets out the defences available, how a validation order might be obtained to prevent the avoidance provisions applying, and provides procedural guidance for insolvency claims in the specialist courts. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Brown is a barrister called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2014 who specialises in insolvency and commercial law with a particular emphasis on fiduciary duty claims against directors, reviewable transactions, and corporate restructurings. Prior to his career as a barrister, Andrew earned a Masters and a Doctorate in Ancient Greek History from the University of Oxford where he also lectured on various ancient topics. CONTENTS Chapter One – Introduction Chapter Two – The Nature of Void Dispositions Chapter Three – Remedies Available to Office-Holders and Defences Chapter Four – Validation Orders Chapter Five – Procedural Matters