On 10 May 2021, the English High Court rejected landlords’ challenge to the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) of fashion retailer, New Look. The New Look decision was the first in a trio of highly significant judgments focused on a distressed tenant's ability to compromise landlord's claims (our coverage of the Virgin Active and Regis decisions is available below).

The challenge

The landlords' challenge focused on jurisdiction, unfair prejudice and material irregularity as a result of the following:

On 12 May 2021, in the first opposed cross-class cram down case, the English High Court sanctioned Virgin Active's restructuring plans, the first to bind landlords to lease compromises.

The decision

While the opposing landlords challenged the valuation evidence advanced by the companies, they did not advance evidence of their own. The court accepted the companies' evidence that:

Until recently, an appeal to enter debt restructuring in proceedings opposing a bankruptcy order was not allowed by the Dutch lower courts. In a ground-breaking ruling on 26 March 2021, the Dutch Supreme Court (ECLI:NL:HR:2021:460) put an end to this practice.

The case

We summarise the background and outcomes of Case C-73/20 – Oeltrans, an important ruling for liquidators faced with the avoidance of a third party payment and a conflict of laws.

The facts

Re Zoom UK Distribution Ltd (in administration); Wessely and another (in their capacity as joint administrators of Zoom UK Distribution Ltd (in administration)) v Rubra and others

The UK courts' latest attempt to grapple with the effects of a defect in the way administrators are appointed was recently resolved in favour of the administrators.

On 23 March 2021, the 2011 sale of the One Blackfriars development site in London by administrators was cleared of misfeasance by the High Court, in Re One Blackfriars Ltd [2021] EWHC 684 (Ch).

In a £250 million claim, the company's liquidators had alleged that the former administrators had breached their duties by failing to act independently of the banking syndicate which appointed them, failing to properly assess the value of the site, and selling the site at an undervalue.

Here, we recap the facts of the case and outline the key takeaways to consider.

On 23 March 2021, the 2011 sale of the One Blackfriars development site in London by administrators was cleared of misfeasance by the High Court, in Re One Blackfriars Ltd [2021] EWHC 684 (Ch).

In a £250 million claim, the company's liquidators had alleged that the former administrators had breached their duties by failing to act independently of the banking syndicate which appointed them, failing to properly assess the value of the site, and selling the site at an undervalue.

Here, we recap the facts of the case and outline the key takeaways to consider.

New act overning attachments and executions

In Nederland is het, vergeleken met omringende landen, vrij eenvoudig om beslag te leggen. De Wet herziening beslag- en executierecht (de ‘Wet’) beoogt het beslag- en executierecht voor schuldeisers eenvoudiger te maken door de mogelijkheden tot digitaal beslag leggen te verruimen. Ook wordt het beslag- en executierecht efficiënter met als gevolg dat schuldeisers minder kosten hoeven te maken om vorderingen te incasseren. Enig tegenwicht biedt de Wet, uitgebreider dan voorheen, door waarborging van het bestaansminimum van natuurlijke personen met schulden.

Duty of care in tort not established in favour of main contractor from third party sub consultant