“(g) If a sum calculated under clause 4 of the bill of sale became due and owing from both claimants and the defendant proved in the bankruptcy of the first claimant for the whole of that sum less moneys subsequently received, is it alleged that the second claimant continued to be under the obligations set out in the loan agreement and the bill of sale as if the bankruptcy of the first claimant had never occurred? (h) If it is so alleged, why is that so? (i) If it is contended that the obligations under the bill of sale were joint and several please state the difference if any that it makes to any of the answers given in respect of questions (c) to (h) with the reasons why.”
“(g) If a sum calculated under clause 4 of the bill of sale became due and owing from both claimants and the defendant proved in the bankruptcy of the first claimant for the whole of that sum less moneys subsequently received, is it alleged that the second claimant continued to be under the obligations set out in the loan agreement and the bill of sale as if the bankruptcy of the first claimant had never occurred? To a point, yes. It is not suggested that the bankruptcy of the first claimant had never occurred, merely that it is not material to the position of the second claimant. (h) If it is so alleged, why is that so? For the reasons given earlier. Claiming in the bankruptcy of the first claimant had no consequence to the ability of the Defendant to claim against the second claimant. If, contrary to the position accepted by the Official Receiver that were not the case then the Defendant would have made an application as identified in paragraph 10 of my earlier submissions. (i) If it is contended that the obligations under the bill of sale were joint and several please state the difference if any that it makes to any of the answers given in respect of questions (c) to (h) with the reasons why. As indicated above, the only possible construction of the bill of sale is that the obligations were either joint or joint and several. It makes no difference to the outcome of this case which construction is given, but it is assumed that without evidence to the contrary, the obligations were joint.”
“On its face the bill of sale does not specify whether the obligations of the grantor (singular) are joint and several where the grantor is more than one person. The claimants’ position is that liability is joint but not several. It was open to the defendant to draft a bill of sale that created joint and several liability but in the absence of such drafting there is nothing to indicate that the claimants’ liability is anything other than joint. If so, the defendant has only one cause of action. By proving for the whole of the debt in the first claimant’s bankruptcy and receiving a dividend, it was no longer open to the defendant to pursue the same debt against the second claimant.”
“15. The defendant’s case appeared to be that the agreement and liability under the bill of sale continued against the second claimant and that, although her bankruptcy relieved her from the obligation to keep paying the instalments in respect of the car and from the liability to pay any accrued obligations, if she wanted to keep the car, she had to keep the agreement alive and honour the obligations secured by the bill of sale. When she failed to do that there was a default both under the agreement and under the bill of sale and the car became liable to be seized. Damages are recoverable in respect of the period during which the car was wrongfully withheld. 16. During the hearing and afterwards there was much talk of the effect of the law of insolvency but I think that the answer to the case is altogether more basic. 17. The parties are agreed that the claimants jointly entered into the loan agreement and executed the bill of sale. 18. The bill of sale makes no express provision for the position in respect of two or more grantors of the bill. The reference throughout is to “the Grantor”
“I accept, of course, that those provisions of the bankruptcy code have no direct application to the position in a voluntary arrangement. The effect of the arrangement has to be determined by construing its terms in the context of the events which have happened. But those provisions are, I think, helpful in that they show how the problem which arises in the present case is dealt with under the bankruptcy code. The problem arises where a secured creditor who has not realised his security is required to decide whether to participate in a distribution of assets which are available to meet the claims of unsecured creditors. It is plain that, unless he abandons his security, he can only participate in that distribution on the hypothesis (which may turn out to be wrong) that part of his debt is unsecured; and then only by putting a value on his security so as to quantify that part for the purposes of the calculation and payment of dividend. It would be possible, in principle, to require him to make an irrevocable election; to permit him to participate in a distribution of assets available to meet the claims of unsecured creditors only on the basis that he does abandon his security in respect of that part of the debt which is treated, for the purposes of the distribution, as unsecured. But that is not the solution to the problem which has been adopted in bankruptcy. It has been thought more satisfactory to allow the secured creditor whose security may not be sufficient to satisfy the whole of his debt to participate in a distribution of assets available to meet the claims of unsecured creditors on a provisional basis. If it turns out, on a realisation of the security, that he has been paid too much out of the assets available to meet the claims of unsecured creditors, then he must repay the overpayment; but he is allowed to apply the proceeds of realisation in or towards satisfaction of his secured debt. In the absence of an express term in the voluntary arrangement itself - or agreed between the supervisor and the secured creditor at the time when the creditor claims in the arrangement - I think that the court should be slow to imply a term which would lead to a result which differs in so material a respect from that to which the statutory code would have led in the bankruptcy for which the voluntary arrangement was proposed as a substitute.”
“Discharge does not release any person other than the bankrupt from any liability (whether as partner or co-trustee of the bankrupt or otherwise) from which the bankrupt is released by the discharge, or from any liability as surety for the bankrupt or as a person in the nature of such a surety.”
“The default notice must be in the prescribed form and specify— (a) the nature of the alleged breach; (b) if the breach is capable of remedy, what action is required to remedy it and the date before which that action is to be taken; (c) if the breach is not capable of remedy, the sum (if any) required to be paid as compensation for the breach, and the date before which it is to be paid.”
“76Duty to give notice before taking certain action. (1) The creditor or owner is not entitled to enforce a term of a regulated agreement by— (a) demanding earlier payment of any sum, or (b) recovering possession of any goods or land, or (c) treating any right conferred on the debtor or hirer by the agreement as terminated, restricted or deferred, except by or after giving the debtor or hirer not less than seven days’ notice of his intention to do so. (2) Subsection (1) applies only where— (a) a period for the duration of the agreement is specified in the agreement, and (b) that period has not ended when the creditor or owner does an act mentioned in subsection (1), but so applies notwithstanding that, under the agreement, any party is entitled to terminate it before the end of the period so specified. ……”