EGR was at the forefront of a jurisprudential evolution of the notion of appointment of mandataire ad hoc under the Civil Code
In the matter of SN 416/2022 Exparte The Appointment of a Mandataire for Société Village de Retraite– Les Nenuphars, an application was made for an Order from the Honourable Judge sitting in Chambers appointing one Mr Raoul Joseph Paul Clarenc, as mandataire of Société Village de Retraite - Les Nenuphars until the next General Assembly of Société Village de Retraite - Les Nenuphars, with the mission of:
(a) summoning a General Assembly in view of nominating one or several gérants for Société Village de Retraite - Les Nenuphars; and
(b) proceeding with the payment, inter alia, of the expenses of the Société Village de Retraite - Les Nenuphars until one or several gérants are appointed at the General Assembly
Whilst prayer (a) above is clearly provided for, at article 1846 alinéa 5 of the Civil Code in the hereunder terms, prayer (b) required guidance from the French jurisprudence:
“Si pour quelque cause que ce soit, la société se trouve dépourvue de gérant, tout associé peut demander au Juge en Chambre la désignation d'un mandataire chargé de réunir les associés en vue de nommer un ou plusieurs gérants. »
In regard prayer (b), it was put forth before the Honourable Judge sitting in Chambers that notwithstanding the strict terms of article 1846 alinéa 5, the Courts in France have held that the role of the mandataire ad hoc (appointed when a “société se trouve dépourvue de gérant”) is not necessarily limited to convening a general assembly to appoint one or several new gérants but that the said mandataire can be authorized to carry out other specific missions, like for example proceeding with the payment of the recurring monthly expenses of a société so as to avoid the disruption of the operations of the société.
After taking time to consider the aforesaid legal standpoint, on 23 March 2022, the Honourable Justice D Mootoo granted the application in terms of the prayers.
