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''Mason v Lewis'' is a Court of Appeal decision that held that the test for determining what reckless trading under section 135 of the Companies Act 1993 is an objective one. The decision also clarified that s 135 is concerned not with deterring mere risk but with prohibiting "substantial risk of serious loss".〔 ==Background== Mr and Mrs Lewis were directors of their own printing business, set up in 1984, who invested in and became directors of a company called Global Print in 1999.〔''Mason v Lewis'' () 3 NZLR 225 at ().〕 Global Print was the idea of Mr Grant, who became its manager.〔''Mason v Lewis'' () 3 NZLR 225 at ().〕 In February 2000 Global Print lost its main contract, although the Lewises did not learn of this until April 2000.〔''Mason v Lewis'' () 3 NZLR 225 at () and ().〕 Until this point there were four other directors, three former colleagues of Mr Grant and his wife, Mrs Grant, but on 20 April 2000 the three former colleagues resigned as directors.〔''Mason v Lewis'' () 3 NZLR 225 at ().〕 The financial position of the company gradually worsened and in September 2001 Mrs Lewis resigned as a director.〔''Mason v Lewis'' () 3 NZLR 225 at ().〕 In February 2002 Global Print was placed into liquidation and a complaint was made to the Serious Fraud Office about Mr Grant, which resulted in him being convicted of five charges of fraud for arranging false invoices to Global Print which were factored to another company.〔''Mason v Lewis'' () 3 NZLR 225 at () and ().〕 The liquidators went to the High Court alleging breaches by the Lewises of their duties under ss 135 and 300 of the Companies Act 1993. Section 135 states, A director of a company must not— Section 300 allows for the personal liability of directors if proper accounting records have not been kept.〔''Mason v Lewis'' () 3 NZLR 225 at ()-().〕 In the High Court Justice Salmon held, "that there must be a conscious decision to allow the business to be conducted in a way that creates a substantial risk of serious loss to the company's creditors or a wilful or grossly negligent turning of a blind eye to the particular situation; in other words, some element of subjectivity." The liquidators appealed. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mason v Lewis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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