The English courts have been careful to control the circumstances in which a constructive trust will be declared.

Introduction

Court holds Bankrupt cannot be forced to draw scheme benefits to pay creditors

In its judgment in Horton v Henry the Court of Appeal has held that where a bankrupt member has acquired a right to draw benefits, but has not yet done so (a) his rights under the scheme are not "income" over which the court can make an income payments order under section 310 of the Insolvency Act 1986; and (b) the trustee in bankruptcy cannot compel the member to take his benefits.

Background

Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010: in force from 1 August 2016

In August 2016 significant changes to English insurance law will take effect.

On 1 August 2016 the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 (the 2010 Act) will come into force. The 2010 Act will be swiftly followed by the Insurance Act 2015, which will come into force on 12 August 2016.  

Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers Act) 2010

MPs' Report on the financial collapse of BHS: what are the key pensions implications?

MPs have published a report on the events leading to the financial collapse of BHS shortly after its sale by Sir Philip Green. As a consequence of BHS's insolvency, its defined benefit pension schemes will enter the PPF.

Litigation

Lender not obliged to advise borrower about onerous term

In Finch and another v Lloyds TSB Bank Plc and others,  the High Court considered whether a lender had a duty to advise a borrower about a clause in its loan agreement making it liable for the bank's hedging break costs if the borrower chose to repay a fixed rate loan early.

June 2016 BREXIT A changing legal landscape? 1 INTRODUCTION Yesterday, the UK public voted for the UK to leave the European Union ( EU). This briefing discusses, in outline, the potential timetable for Brexit, the possible shape that Brexit might take and the potential impact Brexit might have on certain areas of law relevant to your business.

Recent piece-meal amendments to the Spanish Insolvency Act 2003 seem to have cumulated into a restructuring solution that is starting to be considered predictable, quick and fair, especially when compared to the pre-amendment system. With its new restructuring approach, which shares many of the same characteristics as an English Scheme of Arrangement, Spanish companies have finally been given much-needed space and time to develop an appropriate restructuring strategy.

While the CIS nations have recently provided a multitude of sizeable restructuring cases, the region’s dominant force, Russia, has stood up reasonably well to lengthy economic decline, economic sanctions and the collapse of oil and gas prices. There are now signs however, that its complex troubles are pushing certain companies towards a restructuring or insolvency position.

In light of the UK’s cram down and director-friendly processes, in particular its scheme of arrangement model, major European economies such as France, Germany and Italy have worked hard to develop regimes that give greater emphasis to pre-insolvency alternatives. These new regimes create cram down mechanisms and encourage debtor-in-possession (DIP) financings, ultimately aiming to make restructuring plans more accessible, more efficient, and crucially more reliable; essentially more in tune with the Anglo-American approach to insolvency and restructuring.

Much like the English Scheme of Arrangement which has become a popular debt restructuring solution for international debtors, the English High Court is an attractive forum for insolvency litigation thanks to the potent combination of wide-ranging powers available to Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) under the Insolvency Act 1986, and the increasing availability of litigation funding arrangements in the London market.