A note on In the matter of Restore Builders Limited En Désastre [2024] JRC 290.

The Royal Court of Jersey has recently held, for the first time, that the actions of a Jersey company director constituted wrongful trading and ordered that he be personally liable for the company's debts and disqualified as a director for ten years.

Introduction

The Jersey insolvency legislative and common law framework provides an adaptable and commercially focussed regime for the supervision and handling of the liquidation and restructuring of Jersey entities. This note addresses the different mechanisms by which Jersey incorporated companies may be wound up.

Winding up of a solvent company

A solvent, or "summary", winding up commences where the shareholders voluntarily pass, or are deemed to pass, and file, a special resolution to do so and the directors have confirmed either that the company:

Recent weeks have witnessed seismic shifts in the oil and gas industry because of crashing oil prices, demand destruction associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and crude oil storage reaching record capacity levels. Upstream producers are especially vulnerable to these market pressures and have begun shutting in wells, asserting force majeure, and cutting costs. As counterparties to distressed producers, midstream players face new challenges in navigating contractual relationships and mitigating risk.