Georgia is ranked as a Leading Junior in Insolvency by the Legal 500 who comment she is “punchy” and “bright”.
Georgia is frequently instructed in claims brought by office-holders against company officers, predominantly for breach of fiduciary and statutory duty, fraud, misfeasance and antecedent transactions, alongside litigation involving banks and other third parties. Georgia has significant High Court trial experience in all aspects of insolvency litigation.
Georgia’s recent experience includes:
- Instructed to advise liquidators in relation to a proposed claim with an estimated value of £150million against an investor bank shareholder for breaches of fiduciary and statutory duties, breach of contract and breach of confidentiality concerning the shareholder’s alleged actions in forcing the company into insolvency.
- Acted for the successful liquidators in a highly complex remuneration claim in circumstances in which the company was, at the time of the application, solvent and the shareholders’ opposed the substantial increase in remuneration.
- Instructed by the liquidators appointed by a European government to advise on a high value and complex cross-border insolvency in circumstances in which the insolvent company had significant cultural importance to the European nation, with claims in the estate exceeding £several hundred million.
- Instructed in a high value application to set aside a statutory demand for £25million under a personal guarantee where the respondent claimed assets of almost £1billion.
- Acting for the successful liquidators in a High Court trial against the company’s director with a value in excess of £1million concerning the director’s misfeasance and breach of fiduciary duty as a result of the fraudulent misappropriation of company money and payment of unlawful dividends.
- Instructed by a global bank to advise on a £multi-million cross-border restructuring.
- Significant experience acting for office-holders in the High Court in relation to defective office-holder appointments including in Re Mederco (Cardiff) Ltd [2021] EWHC 386 (Ch).
- Advising in proceedings brought pursuant to the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 with a claim value in excess of £1.5million relating to underlying liability of the insured for breach of trust and fiduciary duty.
- Acting for the successful liquidators in a High Court trial against the company’s director in a breach of fiduciary duty, preference, transaction at undervalue and s.423 claim.
- Successfully appearing in a High Court trial against a director for breach of fiduciary duty as a result of orchestrating a scheme of payments to connected parties disguised as payments for proper company purposes.
- Currently instructed by office-holders in proceedings brought against de jure and de facto directors with a claim value in excess of £1.5million for breach of trust and fiduciary duty.
- Advising a prospective petitioner in respect of a proposed petition to wind up a foreign company in the courts of England and Wales.
- Appearing on behalf of a liquidator in an application in the High Court for a warrant for the arrest of company directors domiciled in Northern Ireland and the related seizure of documents for failure to attend a private examination and comply with an order to deliver up documents.
- Appellate experience, including acting for the successful trustees in bankruptcy in a High Court appeal relating to beneficial interests in land and successfully appearing on behalf of joint trustees-in-bankruptcy in the High Court in an application for relief from sanctions to pursue an out of time appeal.
- Acting for a prominent PLC in the construction industry in a creditor’s administration order application in the High Court in relation to debts owed by a construction company on three major development projects of approximately £1million.
- Acting for directors in s.217 proceedings issued for breach of s.216 for acting as directors of a company with a prohibited name brought by prominent litigation funders. Issues as to whether the new company was “trading” within the meaning of the statutory exception in the 12 months prior to the liquidation.
- Successfully acting for the applicant in urgent injunctive relief proceedings in the High Court restraining presentation of a winding-up petition.
- Advising in respect of disclosure applications in the High Court on behalf of a liquidator in relation to underlying proceedings involving complex equitable proprietary claims (based on breach of duty, bribery, unlawful means conspiracy and knowing assistance).
Notable Insolvency cases
Re Mederco (Cardiff) Ltd [2021] EWHC 386 (Ch).
Application in the High Court relating to a defective administration extension where the consent of hundreds of international investors with claims exceeding £4.5 million, who should have been treated as secured creditors as holders of equitable liens, was not obtained. Significant judgment considering whether the Court can backdate a retrospective administration order for more than 364 days and determining that the post- Brexit legislation applied despite the order being backdated before the end of the transition period.
Retrospective administration order plus an extension obtained.
