On 17 June 2016, the First-tier Tribunal (in Farnborough Airport Properties Ltd v HMRC²) held that the appointment of a receiver over a (would-be surrendering) group company meant that “arrangements” were in place for the company to no longer be under the same “control” as would-be claimant group companies.

This briefing is the second in a series of 3 briefings about the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 which we will be publishing on the run-up to it coming into force on 1 August 2016.

Click here if you would like to read the first briefing in the series.

The pros and cons every claims professional needs to know

The Court of Appeal has recently considered the status of contingent assets within the balance sheet test for insolvency in the context of a company’s inability to pay its debts. Under Section 123 Insolvency Act 1986, a company is deemed unable to pay its debts if its assets are less than its liabilities including contingent liabilities but nothing is said about the status of contingent assets.

Goldcrest Distribution Ltd v (1) Charles Joseph McCole (2) Mary Orr McCole (3) Jeremy Willmont (Trustee in Bankruptcy of Charles Joseph McCole)

This case concerned the Claimant’s conduct in its application for relief from sanction following a successful default judgment hearing and in the litigation process more generally. The Claimant applied to set aside a default judgment entered against it by the Second Defendant after the Claimant failed to file a defence to a counterclaim.

Background

What is a Scottish LP?

In common with LPs registered in the rest of the UK, a Scottish LP is a partnership formed in accordance with the Limited Partnerships Act 1907. A Scottish LP:

The Court of Appeal’s decision in the case of Heis v MF Global highlights the importance of documenting just who has responsibility for contributing to a defined benefit pension scheme.

EIS AND OTHERS V MF GLOBAL UK SERVICES LTD (IN ADMINISTRATION) [2016] EWCA CIV 569, [2016] ALL ER (D) 125 (JUN)

A leading travel lawyer has warned holiday makers to double check that they book their holidays through an Atol registered travel company after thousands of customers were potentially left with just a few pounds in compensation after the un-registered Low Cost Holidays went into administration late last week.

It is believed there are as many as 27,000 customers abroad, and 110,000 with future bookings with the company.

It is estimated that there were almost 40,000 Protected Trust Deeds (“PTD”) entered into between 2005 and 2010. Similar to an IVA, a PTD is a voluntary arrangement in which the debtor conveys his estate to an insolvency practitioner (“the Trustee”) to be held on trust for the benefit of creditors. A large number of those who enter into a PTD do so because of borrowing that they have incurred on credit cards.

Until recently the oil and gas sector has not been on the restructuring communities radar. However, last year global oil prices hit an all-time low, which led to a record number of insolvencies in the industry. Consequently in conjunction with Lexis Nexis we have produced the Guide to insolvency in the UK oil and gas industry.

Over the past few months, we have commented on the steel industry crisis and some of the employment law issues arising from it in the context of insolvency.