Dispute Resolution analysis: When the owners and controllers of a company refused to identify the recipient of payments made out of the company during the course of arbitration proceedings, their defence to a claim under section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 was struck out and judgment was entered against them.

Integral Petroleum SA v Pretrogat FZE and ors [2023] EWHC 44 (Comm)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Dispute Resolution analysis: A Court, cost-managing a claim under s423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 has strongly criticised the level of anticipated costs reflected in cost budgets and have made an order reflecting the view formed.

Lemos and ors v Church Bay Trust Company Limited [2023] EWHC 157 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Dispute Resolution analysis: A large award of damages and/or equitable compensation has been made against the directors and connected companies of a company which was used to perpetrate a large scale labour supply fraud against HMRC.

Umbrella Care Ltd v Nisa and ors [2022] EWHC 3139 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Even before chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 2005 to govern cross-border bankruptcy proceedings, the enforceability of a foreign court order approving a restructuring plan that modified or discharged U.S. law-governed debt was well recognized under principles of international comity. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recently reaffirmed this concept in In re Modern Land (China) Co., Ltd., 641 B.R. 768 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2022).

The Insolvency and Companies Court has recognised Chapter 11 Proceedings in the US in respect of the manufacturer of controversial surgical mesh products which have generated a significant number of claims worldwide. The British Claimants have had their claims stayed as a result of this recognition.

Re Astora Women’s Health LLC [2022] EWHC 2412 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Restructuring and Insolvency analysis: The respondents to a claim brought by the joint liquidators of BHS Group companies have successfully struck out parts of claims brought under sections 212 and 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) on the basis of open-ended pleadings as to the relevant date of knowledge that insolvent liquidation was inevitable and trading should have ceased.

Chandler v Wright and others [2022] EWHC 2205 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Dispute Resolution analysis: The High Court has granted an application to wind up a company incorporated in Luxembourg in a decision which sheds light on the application of cross-border insolvency principles following the UK’s departure from the European Union.

Barings (UK) Limited and ors v Galapagos SA [2022] EWHC 1633 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Dispute Resolution analysis: Deputy ICCJ Schaffer has dismissed an application brought by the Respondents to a claim brought by the Joint Liquidators of BHS Group Ltd for wrongful trading. The failure to plead the relevant quantum of the claim was not a deficiency which merited strike-out.

Re BHS Group Ltd [2021] EWHC 3501 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Courts disagree over whether a foreign bankruptcy case can be recognized under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code if the foreign debtor does not reside or have assets or a place of business in the United States. In 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit staked out its position on this issue in Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund LP v. Barnet (In re Barnet), 737 F.3d 238 (2d Cir. 2013), ruling that the provision of the Bankruptcy Code requiring U.S. residency, assets, or a place of business applies in chapter 15 cases as well as cases filed under other chapters.

The foundation of chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code and similar legislation enacted by other countries to govern cross-border bankruptcy cases is "comity" and cooperation among U.S. and foreign courts. The importance of these concepts was recently illustrated by a ruling handed down by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. In In re Varig Logistica S.A., 2021 WL 5045684 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. Oct.