What categories of transaction can be avoided or set aside?
Who is responsible for seeking orders to set aside such transactions?
This Q&A on avoidance transactions is part of a series on restructuring and corporate recovery jurisdiction in the British Virgin Islands.(1)
What are the principal forms of security in the British Virgin Islands in respect of movable and immovable property?
What is the effect on secured creditors of the commencement of an insolvency procedure?
Key Takeaways
To what extent do courts assist overseas appointees (through recognition) and in what circumstances?
Are there any limitations typically imposed in respect of recognition of an overseas appointee?
What are the principal insolvency procedures for companies in the British Virgin Islands?
Are any of the procedures available on a provisional basis?
What requirements should be satisfied for the procedures to be pursued?
Highlights
Should a claim for appraisal rights brought by a former shareholder of a Chapter 11 debtor be subordinated under Section 510(b) of the Bankruptcy Code? According to the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the answer is yes. See In re: RTI Holding Co., LLC, No. 20-12456, 2021 WL 3409802 (Bankr. D. Del. Aug. 4, 2021).
Background
Trillions of dollars of securities are issued on the strength of bankruptcy remoteness and special purpose entities (“SPVs”) intended to be bankruptcy remote. These transactions generally involve hundreds of millions of dollars and investors’ expectations that the SPVs will not be dragged into a potential bankruptcy filing of their non-SPV affiliates.
In a recent opinion, the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland dealt with a conflict between the strong presumption in favor of enforcing arbitration agreements and the Bankruptcy Code’s emphasis on centralization of claims. Based on an analysis of the two statutory schemes and their underlying policies and concerns, the Court decided to lift the automatic stay to allow the prepetition arbitration proceeding to go forward with respect to non-core claims.
Background
The application of sovereign immunity principles in bankruptcy cases has vexed the courts for decades. The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinions on the matter have not helped much. Although they have addressed the issue in specific contexts, they have not established clear guidelines that the lower courts may apply more generally. The Third Circuit took a crack at clarifying this muddy but important area of the law in the case of Venoco LLC (with its affiliated debtors, the “Debtors”).
Background