On 23 March 2020, Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Mullen set out the Court’s emergency response to managing winding up hearings during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Upon considering the current situation it was decided that the general winding up list cannot presently be conducted remotely and that satisfactory arrangements to ensure safety cannot be put in place such that it is necessary that the Petitions should be adjourned in blocks to future dates ranging from 17 June to 5 August 2020.

The following was also ordered –

• Permission is given to any party seeking dismissal of a petition before the date of the adjourned hearing to apply on notice to the other parties and to any person who has given notice of intention to appear pursuant to Rule 7.14 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016.

• The application must be supported by evidence stating the reasons for the application and setting out the persons who have given notice of intention to appear.

• Any such applications and the petitions to which they relate will be listed in a general dismissal list to be conducted remotely by Skype or similar video conferencing technology and the parties and any person who has given notice of intention to appear must contact the court 7 days before thehearing for details of how the hearing is to be conducted.

• Any party seeking substitution must comply with Rule 7.14(6) and in the absence of such compliance may not be heard.

• Nothing in this order is intended to preclude a petitioner withdrawing a petition pursuant to Rule 7.13 if a notice of the petition has not been given under Rule 7.10; no notice in support or opposition to the petition have been received by the petitioner and the company consents. An application to withdraw may be granted on paper.

• All affected parties shall have permission to apply in respect of any matter concerning the petition.

Link - https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-companies-winding-up