Patterson (Appellant) v John Thompson & Sons Limited and others (Respondents)

Case summary
Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2025/0083

Parties

Appellant(s)

John Patterson

Respondent(s)

The Insolvency Service of Northern Ireland [THE OFFICIAL RECEIVER OF NORTHERN IRELAND]

JOHN THOMPSONS & SONS LIMITED

DIAMOND HERON SOLICITORS

Charlene Murray

Issue

Does the Appellant have standing to bring proceedings that raise issues that are in substance a challenge to decisions made in separate proceedings between the Respondent and the Appellant’s father?

Facts

The Appellant agreed to purchase fertiliser from the Respondent in 2012. Following a failure to pay, the Respondent commenced a bankruptcy petition against the Appellant, leading to a bankruptcy order on 21 October 2016. This order was later discharged on 11 May 2018. Following the discharge of this bankruptcy order, the Respondent, via his representatives Diamond Heron Solicitors, initiated a civil action against Issac Patterson, the Appellant’s father, seeking recovery of the same debt. The proceedings were then amended to introduce allegations of deceit against the Appellant himself, without formally joining him as a party. On 18 June 2021, the County Court accepted the validity of the amended civil bill and issued a debt decree against the Appellant’s father. This led to the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings against the father on 24 February 2023, for which he was made bankrupt on 2 June 2023. The Appellant challenged the validity of these bankruptcy proceedings against his father, claiming that they were predicated on the same debt for which the Appellant had already been subject to a bankruptcy order that was later discharged. The High Court dismissed the Appellant’s applications on 11 December, primarily on the basis that he lacked standing, and the Court of Appeal dismissed the Appellant’s appeal on 27 February 2025. The Appellant now appeals to the Supreme Court.