The UK Supreme Court handed down its decision in BTI v Sequana on 5 October 2022, unanimously dismissing the appeal from the 2019 Court of Appeal decision and confirming how directors duties ought to be applied when a company is in the zone of insolvency. Although decisions of the UK Supreme Court are not binding upon the jurisdictions in which Ogier practises law, it will nevertheless be highly persuasive and influence the approach taken in the offshore jurisdictions that Ogier advises upon.
Legal claims can only be brought within the applicable limitation period prescribed by the Limitation Act (1996 Revision). A defendant to any claim that is time-barred has a complete defence. Prior to the recent decision ofRitchie Capital Management LLC et al (Ritchie) v Lancelot Investors Fund Ltd (Lancelot) and General Electric Company (GE), it had been generally understood that the Cayman approach to claims against companies in liquidation would follow the English position on the issue of limitation.
The Department of Justice is changing its method of providing public notice for civil and administrative forfeitures. The Government has traditionally published forfeiture notices in newspapers. Instead, the Government will now post generalized notices at www.forfeiture.gov.
The Government must provide actual notice of forfeiture proceedings to those the Government knows have claimed an interest in property to be forfeited. In a fact pattern the Sixth Circuit characterized as "befitting a John Grisham novel," the Government dug up (literally) a fraudster’s $250,000 on a golf course. The Government found the money in October 2009 and instituted forfeiture proceedings. In November and December 2009, the Government posted a generalized notice of forfeiture on the internet.