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Key points

  • Failure to comply with sections 333 and 363 of the Insolvency Act constitutes contempt of court for which a committal order may be obtained.

  • A trustee in bankruptcy should not usually require permission to apply for a committal order.

  • Correct procedure for application confirmed by the court.

Key points

  • Information obtained by compulsion can be shared between officeholders of connected estates (parent/subsidiary)

  • There must, however, be a possibility that there will be a surplus in the subsidiary estate

  • The prospect must be real as opposed to fanciful

The facts

Key points

  • Court reiterated circumstances in which it will sanction a proposed course of action by administrators

  • Requirement that the course of action be “particularly momentous”

  • Court sanctioned proposed settlement in the circumstances

The Facts

`Forum shopping' is the practice of choosing the most favourable jurisdiction in which a claim could be heard. It is often used as a pejorative, a form of jurisdictional gamesmanship, but, in principle, there is nothing wrong in seeking to have the case heard in the forum which is most favourable to the client. It can however lead to some fierce jurisdictional battles particularly in insolvency where the choice can be stark between debtor and creditor friendly procedures.

Key Points

  • Floating charge is valid even where there are no unencumbered assets at the time it is taken
  • Crystallisation of prior ranking floating charge does not impact enforceability of second ranking floating charge

The Facts

Key Points 

  • Directors cannot file a notice of intention to appoint (NoI) without a ‘settled intention’ to appoint an administrator
  • NoIs cannot be used where there is no qualifying floating charge holder (QFCH)
  • The judgment has implications for validity of appointments where requirements not met

The Facts

Key Points 

  • Claims against Kaupthing could not be pursued in the English courts
  • No implied restriction on jurisdictional effect under the Winding-up Directive
  • Position analogous to Judgments Regulation and Insolvency Regulation

The Facts