The New South Wales Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal following a finding that certain documents relating to attempts to secure litigation funding were not privileged.

Termite Resources NL (Termite) had operated the Cairn Hill Mine in South Australia from 2010. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Outback Iron Pty Ltd (Outback), Termite operated the mine as an incorporated joint venture between IMX Resources (IMX) and Taifeng Yuanchuang International Development Co Ltd (Taifeng).

In Cato Brand Partners Pty Ltd v Air India Ltd the Supreme Court was required to consider whether or not a foreign company had grounds to challenge an application for a winding up order in circumstances where it had not sought to set aside a statutory demand within the required 21 day period.

Affirming the bankruptcy court below in a case of first impression, in In re Caviata Attached Homes, LLC, 481 B.R. 34 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2012), a Ninth Circuit bankruptcy appellate panel held that a relapse into economic recession following a chapter 11 debtor’s emergence from bankruptcy was not an “extraordinary circumstance” that would justify the filing of a new chapter 11 case for the purpose of modifying the debtor’s previously confirmed plan of reorganization.

Modification of a Confirmed Chapter 11 Plan

In the first circuit-level opinion on the issue, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Matson v. Alarcon, 651 F.3d 404 (4th Cir. 2011), held that, for purposes of establishing priority under section 507(a)(4) of the Bankruptcy Code, an employee's severance pay was "earned" entirely upon termination of employment, even though the severance amount was determined by the employee's length of service with the employer.

Section 507(a)(4)

The Bankruptcy Code treats insiders with increased scrutiny, from longer preference periods to rigorous equitable subordination principles, denial of chapter 7 trustee voting rights, disqualification in some cases of votes on a cram-down chapter 11 plan, and restrictions on postpetition key-employee compensation packages. The treatment of claims by insiders for prebankruptcy services is no exception to this general policy: section 502(b)(4) disallows insider claims for services to the extent the claim exceeds the "reasonable value" of such services.