Two NSW Court of Appeal decisions in two months have upheld orders made against directors of a corporate tenant to pay $3,537,040.50 in one case, and $602,178.35 in the other, as damages for the landlord’s loss of rent and make good expenses, as a result of failed retail tenancies.
The decisions are:
The Victorian Court of Appeal delivered judgment in Re Amerind today and held that the priority regime in the Corporations Act applies to insolvent corporate trustees.
In an important decision for insolvency practitioners, the Victorian Court of Appeal today delivered judgment in Commonwealth of Australia v Byrnes and Hewitt in their capacity as joint and several receivers and managers of Amerind Pty Ltd (Receivers and Managers Appointed) (in liq) & Ors [2018] VSCA 41.
Since the decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Re Independent [2016] NSWSC 106, there has been doubt about whether receivers and liquidators should apply the statutory priorities afforded to employee entitlements in sections 433, 561 and 556 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) when distributing the assets of companies who have conducted their businesses as trusts.
From 1 July 2018, new laws will commence which stay the enforcement of ipso facto clauses that are triggered by certain insolvency events.
What are ipso facto clauses?
An ipso facto clause in a contract allows one party to terminate or modify the operation of a contract upon the occurrence of a specific event. Many commercial contracts contain such clauses which operate to allow one party to terminate a contract only due to the commencement of formal insolvency proceedings.
As deleveraging to control transactions continue to be part of the legal landscape in Australia, we anticipate seeing further examples, particularly where the distressed company is a listed entity.
The Safe Harbour reforms that became law on 19 September 2017 aim to create a better environment for the effective corporate rescue of distressed companies.
The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is progressing with loan recoveries against investors in Great Southern Plantations with an outstanding loan.
It has a head start in loan recoveries against the members of the class action (the Group Members) because in the settlement deed approved by Justice Croft on 11 December 2014 it states that each of the Group Members “acknowledges and admits their liability to the BEN Parties to pay the Loan Balance under their Loan Deed”.
A recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court has considered whether certain types of third party payments to a creditor fall outside the preference provisions.
The Year Brick & Mortar Got a Bankruptcy Makeover
What Fashion and Luxury Goods Companies Need to Know About Restructuring and Bankruptcy
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Introduction
Understanding the Issues, Causes, Tools for Distressed Retail Situations & What Lies Ahead for 2018
Summary
The Federal Court of Australia has granted leave to shareholders of a company in liquidation to proceed against the company's insurers under the Civil Liability (Third Party Claims Against Insurers) Act 2017 (NSW), after an earlier application for leave to proceed against the company was refused.