Background

Any disposition of a company's property made after the commencement of its winding up, without the approval of the liquidator, is void. In a 2001 case (Re Industrial Services Company (Dublin) Ltd [2001] 2 I.R.118), the High Court held that the transfer by an account bank of monies from an in-credit account of a company in liquidation to third parties constituted a disposition and the bank could be liable to repay the value of such transfers despite not being aware of the winding up order for the Company.

William Fry understands that, on 30 January 2017, having regard for the recent implementation of the Solvency II regime, EIOPA's Board of Supervisors adopted a decision (the "Decision") which will replace EIOPA's General Protocol relating to the collaboration of the insurance supervisory authorities of the Member States of the European Union (March 2008 Edition).

We understand that the Decision with replace the General Protocol as of 1 May 2017 (and will be available on EIOPA's website shortly).

In the interim, the General Protocol (March 2008 Edition) continues to apply.

The Ministry of Justice has recently published its review of the introduction of Employment Tribunal (‘ET’) fees. The fees were first introduced 2013 and many groups have raised concerns that they are a potentially serious barrier to bringing claims in the ET, particularly for less well off workers and those who have just lost their jobs.

Case law on wrongful trading has developed significantly over the past two years, with the cases of Ralls Buildersand Brooksincreasing judicial consideration of the conduct of directors in the period preceding an insolvency.

Restructuring lawyers and distressed companies alike were granted welcome relief by the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals when it overturned the decision of the District Court in the case of Marblegate Asset Management, LLC v Education Management Finance Corp.[1]

On 16 December 2016 an act amending the insolvency laws applicable to financial derivatives transactions passed the Bundesrat (the second chamber of the German legislature). The new law was finalised only six months after the German Federal Court of Justice passed its landmark judgment that held a netting provision based on the German Master Agreement for Financial Derivatives Transactions to be partially ineffective in the event of insolvency.

The current law regarding insolvency in the UAE is not a comprehensive regime, and the present framework is found across three different laws (mainly in the Commercial Companies Law, as well as the Commercial Transactions Law and the Civil Code). Additionally, companies faced harsh penalties in a bankruptcy scenario, and individuals could also face criminal sanctions and penal sentences. In the wake of low oil prices since 2015, and more companies facing distress, a new bankruptcy law drawing from international best practice will come into force in the UAE, from the beginning of 2017.

The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling from 2015 that a former director of a car dealership was personally liable to a customer who paid the company for three vehicles in the weeks prior to the company's liquidation where the cars were ultimately not delivered to the customer due to the company's liquidation.

Background

A director who breaches the obligations and duties imposed on him by his office may be liable to compensate the company for breach of duty, may incur personal liability for the company’s debts, may also face criminal or civil penalties and may be disqualified from acting as a director. The position of the company director has never been the subject of more scrutiny than it is today.

CR&B Alert

Commercial Restructuring & Bankruptcy News

OCTOBER 2016, ISSUE 3

In This Issue:

Delaware and New York at Odds over Reclamation Claims--2

Second Circuit Sets Out Standard for Determining Scope of Free and Clear Provision in Sale Order Under Section 363(F)--2

Good Faith Filing Requirement Alive and Well in Involuntary Bankruptcy Cases--4

Unpaid Compensation Payable Exclusively in Stock Constitutes Equity, Not an Unsecured Claim--5