A recent decision of the Court of Appeal has seemingly halted a trend towards leniency in the High Court in applications for the restriction and disqualification of directors of insolvent companies, particularly where the company has been struck off the register of companies for failing to file annual returns.

The Irish High Court recently, for the first time, recognised and gave effect to a Swiss law insolvency and restructuring process that had been commenced in Switzerland in respect of a Swiss company.

The Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2015 has been passed without amendment and was signed by the President on Christmas Day 2015. The headline amendment in the Bill is the reduction of the term of Bankruptcy from 3 years to 1 year which mirrors the term of bankruptcy in the UK. In addition to certain procedural amendments, the key amendments are summarised as follows:

The High Court recently determined the extent to which a secured creditor must comply strictly with the formalities set out in a security instrument when executing a Deed of Appointment of a receiver. The Court ruled that strict compliance is required and that, in this case, this had not occurred.

Background

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important preference decision on August 10, 2015.

What You Need to Know

Payments to creditors arising from a recent, single business transaction can be protected by the ordinary course of business defense.

C.W. Mining Company Case

The debtor C.W. Mining Company was failing. In an attempt to survive, it decided to try something new, specifically to increase coal production by converting its mining operations from continuous mining to a long wall system.

Setoff is commonly encountered in bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy situations.  If there are mutual debts between two entities, either may generally offset the debts.  These debts frequently arise where one entity is a vendor to a customer and selling on credit, and at the same time is also making occasional purchases on credit from the customer.  If one entity owes $100 to a second entity but is owed $300 by this second entity, these mutual debts may be offset, leaving just the $200 owed by the second entity.

In the Matter of J.D. Brian Limited (In Liquidation) t/a East Coast Print and Publicity, In the Matter of J.D. Brian Motors Limited (In Liquidation) t/a Belgard Motors, In the Matter of East Coast Car Parts Limited (In Liquidation) and in the Matter of the Companies Acts 1963 - 2009

The Supreme Court has recently confirmed that a debtor can be adjudicated a bankrupt in Ireland and be subject to the Irish bankruptcy regime notwithstanding that the debtor has already been adjudicated a bankrupt in another jurisdiction, in this case the US.

Background

On June 15, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that a law firm could not recover fees it incurred in defending its own fee application.

THE ASARCO CASE

The case involved the copper company ASARCO LLC that filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2005 to deal with cash flow and environmental issues, among others.

On 20 May 2015 the European Parliament adopted a recast of the European Insolvency Regulation. The Recast Regulation is in line with the EU’s current political priorities of promoting economic recovery and boosting growth and employment. The key objectives of the Recast Regulation are to move away from the traditional liquidation approach towards more of a “second chance approach” for businesses and entrepreneurs in financial difficulties, and to enhance cooperation and coordination in cross-border insolvency proceedings. 

Scope