Two recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions demonstrate that the corporate attribution doctrine is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Court approval of a sale process in receivership or Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (“BIA”) proposal proceedings is generally a procedural order and objectors do not have an appeal as of right; they must seek leave and meet a high test in order obtain it. However, in Peakhill Capital Inc. v.
The recent rise in company insolvencies has been driven by a high number of creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVL). The outlook for the rest of 2023 is that there will be an even higher number of companies entering a formal insolvency process in almost every sector and industry.
A high proportion of these insolvencies are small businesses (SME’s), some of which had managed to keep going with the help of Government-led support packages and bounce back loans, but with rising interest rates and inflation, they are now struggling to repay loans and obtain financing.
The Insolvency Service has recently announced their proposal to increase the cost of deposits payable on creditors’ bankruptcy and winding-up petitions which are presented on or after 1st November 2022.
The proposal is as follows:
Bankruptcy Petition deposit increasing from £990 to £1,500
Winding-up Petition deposit increasing from £1,600 to £2,600
If the proposed changes are approved it will mean the overall fee to issue petitions (including the court fee) will be:
Over the last 6 months, the Debt Recovery team has seen an increase in their monitoring of debtor companies and notification for proposals for striking off action. The team are actively reviewing and objecting to any such proposals with Companies House to allow their clients to continue to chase their debts.
Introduction
The concept of winding up does not exclusively apply to insolvent companies. Solvent companies can also be wound up, on the initiation of the company’s directors and shareholders (for example, as part of a corporate reconstruction or to close down non-operating or redundant entities).
An overview of the two key procedures to effect the dissolution of a solvent Australian company, being Members’ Voluntary Liquidation and Deregistration, is set out below.
In brief
Even with the fiscal stimulus and other measures taken by the Federal and State governments in Australia, corporate insolvencies are likely to increase in coming months.
Under Australia's insolvency regimes, a distressed company may be subject to voluntary administration, creditor's voluntary winding up or court ordered winding up (collectively, an external administration). Each of these processes raises different issues for the commencement and continuation of court and arbitration proceedings.
In summary
In our previous alert we discussed how Justice Markovic in the Federal Court of Australia had granted the administrators of retailer Colette Group relief from personal liability for rent in respect of 93 stores.
The Australian Federal Court has made orders relieving the administrators of retailer Colette from personal liability for rent in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the current uncertainty in respect of government policy about rent relief for tenants: see
What you need to know
Amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) to implement the measures announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Sunday, 22 March 2020 to provide temporary relief for financially distressed businesses due to COVID-19 have now come into effect.
The Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Cth) (CERPO Act) amendments were passed by the Parliament on 2 March 2020. They will apply for a 6 month period, but may be extended or have impacts beyond that timeframe.