J. Speirs & Co. v. Central Building Co., Ltd

Creditors to the amount of £40 obtained decree for that sum against a limited company and taking extract charged thereon. The company paid £32. After some months the creditors presented a petition for the winding-up of the company. The company opposed the granting of the order on the grounds (1) that the petitioners would gain nothing as the sole assets consisted of heritage bonded to its full value, and (2) that the debt was under £50.

The Court granted the order, holding that the first objection was immaterial in view of section 141, and that the limitation to debts of £50 in section 130, sub-sec. 1, did not apply to subsection 3.

J. Speirs & Company, wrights and builders, Hillhead, Glasgow, presented a petition for the winding-up of the Central Building Company, Limited, having its registered office at 157 West George Street, Glasgow.

Lord President —This is a petition for the winding-up of the Central Building Company Limited. The petition sets forth that the petitioners are creditors of the company, and that on 6th December 1909 they obtained decree for the sum of £40, that the decree was extracted, and that the company was charged to make payment within seven days; that £32 was paid to account, but that the petitioners have been unable to obtain payment of the balance.

The petitioners therefore aver that the company is unable to pay its debts and should now be wound up, looking to the terms of section 130 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act 1908, which enacts—“A company shall be deemed to be unable to pay its debts … if, in Scotland, the induciæ of a charge for payment on an extract decree … have expired without payment being made.” They therefore maintain that they are entitled to a winding-up order.