DGJ v Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd (in liquidation)[2024] SGCA 57
The Court of Appeal ruled that assignments may be ineffective for offending public policy. Additionally, an assignment of a bare right to sue must not prejudice the administration of justice. Generally, non-assignment clauses would also prohibit the assignment of contractual and related rights.
Facts
When the restructuring officer regime was introduced, it was assumed by many that joint provisional liquidators would no longer be appointed for restructuring purposes, having been overtaken by the new regime. The recent decision of Re Kingkey Financial International (Holdings) Ltd suggests that this assumption may not be sound. It also raises several interesting points regarding the restructuring officer regime that merit further consideration. This article considers the Kingkey case, and the points arising from it
Re Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd (in liquidation) [2023] SGHC 330
The Singapore High Court recently ruled on issues relating to the assignability of claims, coverage of non-assignment clause and insolvency set-off.
Facts
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.
In a January 2023 opinion,1 the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court overseeing the bankruptcy case of Latin American airline Avianca and certain of its affiliates sanctioned over 150 of the airline’s Brazilian and Columbian creditors who had filed proofs of claim in the bankruptcy case finding t
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.
In its June 6, 2022 opinion in Siegel v. Fitzgerald, the United States Supreme Court resolved a circuit split and invalidated a 2017 statute that increased U.S. Trustee fees in 48 states—but not Alabama or North Carolina—as unconstitutional under the uniformity requirement of the Constitution’s Bankruptcy Clause. See Siegel v. Fitzgerald, 596 U.S. ___ (2022).
U.S. Trustee Fees, a History