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引言

近期,香港高等法院正式颁布针对一家大型港股公司(“港股公司”)的清盘令并委任清盘人。这宗债项涉及约数十亿美元的清盘呈请终于落下帷幕,也成为香港有史以来涉及金额最大的清盘案件之一。不少客户均希望了解,香港法下这类清盘对债权人利益及权利之影响。我们将持续推出系列文章,为大家介绍有关内容。

案情简介

根据香港公司清盘法律规定,公司任何一位债权人、股东或公司本身均可通过向高等法院提交清盘呈请书发起针对该公司的强制清盘。就该案而言,数月前港股公司的一债权人入禀香港高等法院,对港股公司提起清盘呈请(“呈请”)。该清盘呈请提出后,历经多次聆讯及延期申请,香港高等法院最终针对港股公司颁布了清盘令。

债权人对清盘债务人的行动

一旦公司进入强制清盘程序,根据香港公司清盘法律规定,所有针对该公司的诉讼程序均会自动中止。该规定目的在于确保清盘程序的有序进行,公司资产不会被用于提起或辩护任何法律程序,以保护公司财产和债权人利益。

引言

近期,香港高等法院正式颁布针对一家大型港股公司(“港股公司”)的清盘令并委任清盘人。这宗债项涉及约数十亿美元的清盘呈请终于落下帷幕,也成为香港有史以来涉及金额最大的清盘案件之一。不少客户均希望了解,香港法下这类清盘对债权人利益及权利之影响。我们将持续推出系列文章,为大家介绍有关内容。

案情简介

根据香港公司清盘法律规定,公司任何一位债权人、股东或公司本身均可通过向高等法院提交清盘呈请书发起针对该公司的强制清盘。就该案而言,数月前港股公司的一债权人入禀香港高等法院,对港股公司提起清盘呈请(“呈请”)。该清盘呈请提出后,历经多次聆讯及延期申请,香港高等法院最终针对港股公司颁布了清盘令。

债权人对清盘债务人的行动

一旦公司进入强制清盘程序,根据香港公司清盘法律规定,所有针对该公司的诉讼程序均会自动中止。该规定目的在于确保清盘程序的有序进行,公司资产不会被用于提起或辩护任何法律程序,以保护公司财产和债权人利益。

Federal appellate courts have traditionally applied a "person aggrieved" standard to determine whether a party has standing to appeal a bankruptcy court order or judgment. However, this standard, which requires a direct, adverse, and financial impact on a potential appellant, is derived from a precursor to the Bankruptcy Code and does not appear in the existing statute.

The court-fashioned doctrine of "equitable mootness" has frequently been applied to bar appeals of bankruptcy court orders under circumstances where reversal or modification of an order could jeopardize, for example, the implementation of a negotiated chapter 11 plan or related agreements and upset the expectations of third parties who have relied on the order.

On June 6, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas confirmed the chapter 11 plan of bedding manufacturer Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC and its affiliates (collectively, "Serta"). In confirming Serta's plan, the court held that a 2020 "uptier," or "position enhancement," transaction (the "2020 Transaction") whereby Serta issued new debt secured by a priming lien on its assets and purchased its existing debt from participating lenders at a discount with a portion of the proceeds did not violate the terms of Serta's 2016 credit agreement.

Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code's "safe harbor" preventing avoidance in bankruptcy of certain securities, commodity, or forward-contract payments has long been a magnet for controversy. Several noteworthy court rulings have been issued in bankruptcy cases addressing the application of the provision, including application to financial institutions, its preemptive scope, and its application to non-publicly traded securities.

Bankruptcy trustees and chapter 11 debtors-in-possession ("DIPs") frequently seek to avoid fraudulent transfers and obligations under section 544(b) of the Bankruptcy Code and state fraudulent transfer or other applicable nonbankruptcy laws because the statutory "look-back" period for avoidance under many nonbankruptcy laws exceeds the two-year period governing avoidance actions under section 548.

The finality of asset sales and other transactions in bankruptcy is an indispensable feature of U.S. bankruptcy law designed to maximize the value of a bankruptcy estate as expeditiously as possible for the benefit of all stakeholders. To promote such finality, section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code prohibits reversal or modification on appeal of an order authorizing a sale or lease to a "good-faith" purchaser or lessee unless the party challenging the sale obtains a stay pending appeal. What constitutes "good faith" has sometimes been disputed by the courts.

Since May 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued three decisions addressing or potentially impacting issues of bankruptcy law. These included rulings concerning the abrogation of sovereign immunity for Native American tribes under the Bankruptcy Code, and for instrumentalities of Puerto Rico under a similar statute enacted in 2016 allowing the Commonwealth to restructure its debts. The Court also handed down an opinion concerning a homeowner's entitlement to the surplus proceeds of a real estate tax foreclosure sale.

Whether a dispute that is subject to arbitration can or must be referred to arbitration after one of the parties to a prepetition arbitration agreement files for bankruptcy has long been a source of disagreement among bankruptcy and appellate courts due to a perceived conflict between the Federal Arbitration Act and the Bankruptcy Code. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently provided some useful guidance regarding this issue.