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Contested disqualification hearings
can be very expensive.
Costs accumulate very quickly when
one considers the preliminary costs of the Secretary of State
before a case is even issued. Those costs include:
- solicitor
- counsel
- witnesses.
By the time an affidavit together
with exhibits is issued by the Secretary of State the costs
are usually £2,500 and much more than that in involved
cases.
This is an important issue when
you consider that the court usually asks the 'loser' in
disqualification hearings to pay all costs.
While the sum of £2,500
may not be regarded by many as being material the extra
costs which arise when the matter is taken to court are
substantial.
While it is impossible to give
an accurate estimate of costs here, we have seen costs incurred
of £30,000 in some cases rising to £80,000 in
others.
In more involved cases the costs
can be even higher.
Until the 1st April 2001 court
proceedings could be effectively avoided by entering into
what were known as carecraft orders.
Post 2nd April 2001 the Insolvency
Act 2000 simplified the matter even further, with a consequent
reduction of costs, by getting "disqualification agreements"
under an arrangement called a "disqualification undertaking".
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