After a delay of more than a year, an Act on Preventive Restructuring (the "Act") implementing the EU directive on preventive restructuring frameworks finally became effective in the Czech Republic on 23 September 2023. The long-awaited Act introduced a brand-new legal tool enabling viable enterprises in temporary financial distress to achieve restructuring outside insolvency proceedings. It is a voluntary and flexible process requiring cooperation with creditors, but not necessarily with all of them.
Who can use it?
After a delay of more than a year, an act on preventive restructuring (the "Act") implementing the EU directive on preventive restructuring frameworks finally became effective in the Czech Republic on 23 September 2023. The long-awaited Act introduces a brand-new legal tool preventing the insolvency of viable enterprises in temporary financial distress.
What is preventive restructuring and why use it?
The Czech Ministry of Justice recently published a bill on preventive restructurings (the "Bill") implementing the directive on preventive restructuring frameworks which will introduce a brand-new legal tool preventing the insolvency of viable enterprises in temporary financial difficulties.
The Bill is now heading to the legislative process and should become effective from July 2022. Although it may still undergo some changes, it is already obvious that it will revolutionise Czech insolvency law.
Editorial | Restructuring Directive
The amendment to the Business Corporations Act effective from 1 January of this year (the "Amendment") brings, among other things, a significant change in the liability of members of a statutory body, which will affect the current topic of insolvency.
Members of a statutory body may now be liable in the event of insolvency for a much wider range of misconduct than was the case until the end of 2020. And not only them. The Amendment explicitly widens the range of persons to whom the new liability rules will apply.
In Shameeka Ien v. TransCare Corp., et al. (In re TransCareCorp.), Case No. 16-10407, Adv. P. No. 16-01033 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. May 7, 2020) [D.I. 157], the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recently refused to dismiss WARN Act claims against Patriarch Partners, LLC, private equity firm (“PE Firm“), and its owner, Lynn Tilton (“PE Owner“), resulting from the staggered chapter 7 bankruptcies of several portfolio companies, TransCare Corporation and its affiliates (collectively, the “Debtors“).
Joining three other bankruptcy courts, Judge Thuma of the District of New Mexico recently held that the rules issued by the Small Business Administration (“SBA“) that restrict bankrupt entities from participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP“) violated the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, H.R. 748, P.L. 115-136 (the “CARES Act”), as well as section 525(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.
The coronavirus pandemic has made life complicated for almost all businesses, especially from the financial point of view. Businesses thus face an increased risk of bankruptcy and subsequent insolvency proceedings.
To help with this challenging situation, an amendment to the Insolvency Act as part of the "Lex Covid" was adopted. Lex Covid became effective on 24 April 2020.
Initiation of insolvency proceedings
Creditor's right to file an insolvency petition
The Southern District of New York recently reminded us in In re Firestar Diamond, Inc., et al., Case No. 18-10509 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. April 22, 2019) (SHL) [Dkt. No. 1482] that equitable principles in bankruptcy often do not match those outside of bankruptcy. Indeed, bankruptcy decisions often place emphasis on equality of treatment amongst all creditors and are less concerned with inequities to individual creditors.