Liability for liquidation board for alleged errors

Justices: Endresen, Møse, Ringnes, Bergh, Lindsetmo

An advocate acting as a liquidation board for a company with four municipalities as shareholders had excluded a reported claim from the list of creditors sent to the shareholders, and later dismissed it. The creditor concerned filed a claim for damages against the advocate under section 17-1 of the Companies Act. The Supreme Court found that the advocate had not acted negligently when excluding the claim from the list of creditors. It had to have appeared highly unclear whether a legitimate claim existed. Nor had the advocate acted negligently later, when refusing to acknowledge the claim. He had also advised the general meeting to await deletion until the reported claims had been clarified. If this advice had been followed, the creditor could have obtained recovery through the municipal guarantees issued. There were also no other manners in which the advocate had failed to protect the creditor's interests. The District Court's judgment in favour of the advocate was upheld.