BDO forced to hand over documents in Halliwells case
LAWYERS acting for a group of former Halliwells partners have successfully applied for the disclosure of documents relating to the Manchester solicitor’s demise.
Halliwells collapsed in 2010 and liquidator BDO has been trying to recover cash paid out to partners prior to its failure.
A group of 34 former fixed share members are fighting this claim, represented by Irwin Mitchell, and hope the new information will help their case.
BDO partner Dermot Power told TheBusinessDesk.com he could not hand over the documents without a court order, but he did not oppose the application.
The Companies Court has ordered Mr Power to hand over the files held by Halliwells’ accountant Deloitte, and also ordered BDO to pay legal costs of £3,000.
Chris Jones, insolvency partner at the Manchester office of Irwin Mitchell, said: “This is an important victory and it I believe is certainly significant in terms of helping my clients find a satisfactory resolution to this dispute.
“My clients believe that there is no basis for the claim against them made by BDO and have spent a significant amount of time investigating the actions of the full members of the LLP in the period up to the administration.
“A considerable amount of information has been sought as part of this process, and I’m pleased that this decision has been reached as it means that this work can continue.”
He added: “Quite simply, this investigation will ascertain the clients’ position with regards the conduct of the full members prior to administration, given both the potential claims against our clients and the losses incurred by them as a result of the LLP’s administration.”
In a statment Dermot Power, said: “We are very surprised to see this being spun as a victory against BDO.
“The facts are these: Irwin Mitchell made a request for third party documents from the liquidators. As liquidators, we cannot disclose confidential documents – especially those from a third party – without an order of the court. We therefore said there would be no disclosure without a court order, upon which Irwin Mitchell then made an application to court.
“Prior to the hearing, we indicated that we would not oppose the disclosure of the third party documents if the court considered that Irwin Mitchell’s clients were entitled to them. The disclosure of certain documents was ordered at the hearing, and the court will consider whether additional documents from third parties should be disclosed at a further hearing in October.
“Applications for disclosure of documents are common in this sort of case. The court order has no impact on the BDO’s ability to fulfil its duties as liquidators and we continue to seek the best possible outcome for all Halliwells creditors.”
