On 25 October 2024, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled in a ground-breaking judgment in Royal IHC that a WHOA plan may change creditors’ and shareholders’ rights but cannot impose more onerous obligations. More specifically, the lenders cannot be compelled to provide new financing or to accept new terms and still provide new funds under previously committed credit facilities (i.e., undrawn commitments).
Judges of Barcelona unify principles on certain points of insolvency law
International case law
European jurisprudence on universal and territorial procedures
Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of April 18, 2024 (AIR BERLIN case)
In the most significant decision of the decade on a matter of U.S. bankruptcy law, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its highly anticipated decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 603 U.S. ____ (2024) on June 27, 2024, striking down the non-consensual third party releases that were the cornerstone of Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization by a vote of 5-4. In doing so, the Court said:
The High Court has reaffirmed the test to be applied in considering an application to dismiss a bankruptcy summons grounded on a judgment.
The bankruptcy process in Ireland involves multiple steps and the debtor can seek to bring it to a halt at each step. Debtors often seek to rerun effectively the same arguments at each step, ignoring previous findings by the courts. One such step is an application to dismiss a bankruptcy summons.
The Irish High Court has determined that the liquidation of an Irish aircraft leasing company, which was a 100% subsidiary of a Russian company expressly subject to EU sanctions, rebuts the presumption that the company was controlled by the Russian parent for the purpose of EU sanctions.
This enables the liquidators to deal with the assets without costly and time-consuming derogation applications.
Background
The commercial judges of Madrid publish a guidefor the appointment of an expert on insolvency pre-pack
Public disclosure not required of appointment of expert in restructuring in the context of a pre-insolvency notice
Decision by Pontevedra Commercial Court No 3 on November 16, 2022
In the context of a pre-insolvency notice made on a confidential basis in which the debtor requests appointment of the expert in restructuring, Pontevedra Commercial Court took the view that the appointment does not have to be sent to the Public Insolvency Register to publicly disclose their identity.
No se exige publicidad del nombramiento del experto en reestructuración en el marco de una comunicación de negociaciones de carácter reservado
Auto del Juzgado de lo Mercantil núm. 3 de Pontevedra, de 16 de noviembre de 2022
Since the Dutch Act on Court Confirmation of a Private Restructuring Plan (“WHOA” or “Dutch Scheme”) entered into force on 1 January 2021, Dutch Courts have rendered over 200 judgments.
On 9 March 2023, (one of) the largest Dutch Schemes so far was successfully completed: the restructuring of Royal IHC and its subsidiaries (as announced in IHC’s press release). In this case, the Rotterdam Court made several important decisions enhancing the effectiveness and legal certainty surrounding the WHOA, including regarding: