The far-reaching consequences of restoring a company to the register have been highlighted by a recent decision of the English Court of Appeal.
Irish company law provides that when a company, which was previously struck off is restored to the register of companies, it is deemed to have continued in existence notwithstanding that it was struck off or dissolved. The court can make any necessary orders to place the company and all other persons in the same position as they would have been in if the company had never been struck off.
The English Court of Appeal recently interpreted the equivalent UK company law provision as meaning that proceedings, which had purportedly been issued against a company while it was dissolved, were retrospectively validated upon that company’s restoration to the register. It appears that the power of the court to give directions in conjunction with an order for retrospective restoration may be enough to override procedural objections that can arise, such as the inability of the company to acknowledge service of proceedings while it was dissolved.
Contributed by Danielle Hogan.
