Sanson v Ebert Construction Limited [2015] NZHC 2402 concerned the successful application by liquidators to set aside payments made pursuant to a direct deed arrangement, as they were payments made on behalf of the insolvent developer. Sanson was the first New Zealand case where a liquidator has raised this argument but it is unlikely to be the last. Direct deeds are a common contractual tool in construction projects to give financiers the right to step into the place of the developer and directly arrange for payments to the contractor to ensure that t
In King v PFL Finance Limited & Anor [2015] NZCA 517, the Kings, a husband and wife team of farmers, arranged finance from PFL Finance Limited but the loan went into default. PFL served PLA notices but failed to serve the Kings as guarantors. A receiver was appointed to the farming operation, who determined to cease trading the day after his appointment.
Torchlight was a private equity fund investing in distressed assets. One of its investments was the purchase of a debt from Bank of Scotland International totalling $185m, of which Torchlight had repaid all but $37m. Being in a difficult liquidity position to pay off the debt, Torchlight sought bridging finance from a Mr Grill. Torchlight and Mr Grill entered into a 60-day contract in which Mr Grill would provide $37m to discharge the debt.
In Erwood v Official Assignee [2015] NZCA 478 an application was made to review a decision declining to dispense with security for costs. The applicant, Mr Erwood, argued that he had demonstrated impecuniosity, and that the Registrar had erred in finding to the contrary.
Mr Erwood held nearly $800,000 on deposit with a bank. His account had been frozen by the bank on the basis that Mr Erwood lacked the capacity to give the bank authority for the account. The bank had formed this view on information provided to them by Mr Erwood.
The majority expressly noted that, had they not felt bound by the Supreme Court’s interpretation, they would have agreed with the minority and required the investor to pay back not just the fictional profits, but also the profits of his capital investment.
We look at the reverberations last year from Fences & Kerbs and speculate on their continuing effect this year.
Case volume
Following the determination of the substantive High Court case earlier last year (see our previous summary here), this case concerned a dispute in respect of a right to claim int
Terms of Trade
Ensure your Terms are robust
The Court of Appeal has found that receivers can be personally liable for body corporate levies accrued during a receivership.
The judgment is based on a broader interpretation of the relevant provisions in the Receiverships Act 1993 than applied by the High Court in Body Corporate 162791 v Gilbert, and reverses that decision.1
How does the objective of achieving payment for creditors in insolvency interact with the objectives of pension legislation, which seeks to ensure that individuals are adequately provided for in retirement? The courts in New Zealand and in the UK have each recently grappled with this issue. In both of the recent cases considered in this article the pensions objectives won out and the specific pension funds in question were not made available for the bankrupt individual's creditors.
Over the last couple of years, we have developed the habit of periodically pushing up the periscope to try to determine the ‘big five’ insolvency issues on the horizon.
Below is a retrospective assessment of how we did last time and our best guess as to what will dominate the next 12 months.
The big five for 2015