Executive Summary
引子
将于2024年7月1日正式施行的《公司法》(以下简称“新《公司法》”)第二百三十二条对于“清算义务人”及“未及时履行清算义务责任”(以下简称“董事怠于清算责任”)进行了重大修订,无论是股份公司还是有限公司,董事都将成为法定的唯一清算义务人。该条规定的更新无疑将引发司法解释及其他配套规定的新一轮重大修改,并将再次对司法实践中本就争议颇多的怠于清算责任案件的裁判规则带来冲击。
引子
将于2024年7月1日正式施行的《公司法》(以下简称“《新公司法》”)第二百三十二条对于“清算义务人”及“怠于履行清算义务责任”(以下简称“怠于清算责任”)进行了重大修订,无论是股份公司还是有限公司,董事都将成为法定的唯一清算义务人。该条规定的更新无疑将引发司法解释及其他配套规定的新一轮重大修改,并将对司法实践中本就争议颇多的怠于清算责任案件的裁判规则再次带来冲击。
回望我国立法沿革,在超过三十年的时间中,对于“清算义务人”及“怠于清算责任”的规定修订之繁多、体系之冲突、解释之模糊,遍观整个民商事法律体系都属罕见,并由此引发了大量“类案不同判”的现象。鉴此,笔者将结合《新公司法》的最新修改,对涉及“清算义务人”和“怠于清算责任”的规定进行系统回顾及梳理,并以此为基础对《新公司法》的新修亮点及溯及力问题进行初步分析,抛砖引玉,并求教于业界。
一、《新公司法》之前我国法律对于“清算义务人”与“怠于清算责任”的立法沿革
(一)2005年《公司法》修订之前的相关规定
Over the past several years, unitranche facilities have become increasingly prevalent. This growth has been driven by the ever-growing class of private credit and direct lenders who initially developed the unitranche facility structure, along with traditional bank lenders now joining this market. The unitranche structure has several advantages, including typically quicker execution for the parties involved and in some cases a lower cost of capital to the borrower.
Bed Bath & Beyond, the home goods retailer, has filed bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and plans to conduct liquidation sales and close all of its brick-and-mortar stores by June 30, as reported by The New York Times. The retailer points to an inability to adjust to the growth of online shopping as a reason for its downfall.
On February 13, 2023, Ultra Petroleum Corporation (“Ultra”) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the US Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit’s October 2022 ruling that, in solvent-debtor cases, debtors must pay unsecured creditors applicable contractual make-whole premiums and postpetition interest at contractual default rates in order for such unsecured creditors to be considered unimpaired.
What’s an ABC? If you ask ChatGPT, “ABC” is an acronym that can have multiple meanings, depending on the context—for example, referring to the alphabet. But here we are talking about a type of business liquidation process in the United States known as an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (“ABC”). An ABC is governed by state law and has long been viewed as an alternative to a liquidation under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code.
In a decision likely to have significant impact on certain types of bankruptcy filings going forward, this morning, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the dismissal of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed by Johnson & Johnson affiliate LTL Management LLC.
On October 19th, the Wall Street Journal reported that the electric vehicle startup Mullen Automotive Inc., gained court approval to buy an Indiana manufacturing plant and assets from Electric Last Mile Solutions for $92 million. Such deal, which boosted Mullen’s share prices by 64%, includes Electric Last Mile Solutions’ manufacturing plant in Mishawaka, Indiana and its inventory and intellectual property.
"Credito Real is attempting to bypass Mexican and US insolvency laws and deploy a corporate liquidation statute with almost no protections for creditors.