On 5 July 2019 the Minister of Justice submitted a bill to parliament that will add a new powerful tool to the Dutch restructuring toolbox. The bill on the “Act on the Confirmation of a Private Restructuring Plan” is expected to introduce a serious competitor to the UK’s Scheme of Arrangement and the USA’s Chapter 11. The introduction of the bill will move one step closer on 26 September 2019, when members of the parliament are scheduled to submit their questions and remarks on the bill to parliament’s Standing Committee on Justice and Security.

The High Court has confirmed that a sale by a receiver to a buyer connected with the mortgagee does not engage the self-dealing rule and further considered the extent of the duties on an enforcement sale.

The Court of Appeal has clarified a technical question on the proper operation of Section 245 IA 1986 and the extent to which it might invalidate floating charges taken to secure the supply of goods or services.

Section 245 IA 1986 invalidates floating charges created during the 12 months before insolvency, except (among other matters) to the extent of:

In Re HMV Ecommerce Ltd [2019] EWHC 9(Ch), the directors purported to appoint administrators out-of-court by e-filing the appointment documents at court at 5.54pm on December 28th. The Court’s decision on the validity of the appointment is welcome – but it did not address the underlying problem.

The development of new powertrain technology; challenges within established markets, such as diesel emissions issues; and falls in automotive production – production in the United Kingdom has fallen during the last 12 consecutive months – have had a significant impact on the automotive and mobility industry.

In Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB v Conway & another [2019] UKPC 36, the Privy Council upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands that the appellant bank, SEB, was required to repay redemption payments held to be preferences notwithstanding that it had received the funds in the capacity of nominee, and had already distributed the funds to the beneficiaries without any ability to recover them.

Facts

A Sheriff has answered this question in the affirmative and given reasoning which will be helpful for trustees (under a trust deed) in considering whether to raise sequestration proceedings against the debtor.

Background

The Sheriff Court at Airdrie was asked in April 2019 to comment on the ability of a trustee under a trust deed to summarily apply for a debtor's sequestration in the case of David Mond v Craig Booth.

In Martin v McLaren Construction Ltd [2019 EWHC 2059 (Ch) the Court was asked to decide whether the Respondent had issued a valid Demand Letter against the Applicant prior to issuing a Statutory Demand, and even if it had not, whether the Court should still exercise its discretion to uphold the Statutory Demand pursuant to Rule 10.5(5) of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016.

Commissioned shortly after the Monarch Airlines collapse in October 2017, the UK Government's Airline Insolvency Review has published its Final Report. This article looks at how the Report's recommendations – if implemented - would impact passenger protection if, in the future, airlines become insolvent and what these recommendations mean for airlines.

In this week's update: directors did not need to consider the rights of creditors when declaring a dividend as the company was not insolvent, the Law Commission is seeking views on the law of intermediated securities, polling information can be inside information and a couple of other items.

Court considers whether demerger by dividend was valid (part 4)