Creditors risk losing important rights in bankruptcy cases if deadlines are not met. Unfortunately, sometimes the existence or relevance of a deadline is not obvious to a creditor. Indeed, bankruptcy notices can be indecipherable and tempting to ignore, but failing to abide by deadlines comes at a high price. A recent opinion from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts underscores the need for creditors to take timely action to preserve rights, which is especially noteworthy given the current coronavirus pandemic and the expected increase in bankruptcy filings.

On Wednesday 29 April the Outer House of the Court of Session in Edinburgh issued an opinion sanctioning two schemes of arrangement proposed by Premier Oil Plc and Premier Oil UK Limited (together, Premier Oil) (the Schemes). The Court addressed multiple grounds of challenge and did so without hearing live evidence, despite disputes of fact between the parties.