The Personal Insolvency Bill has completed its passage through the Dáil and the Seanad (the Irish Houses of Parliament) and will now be passed to the President for signing into law.
The new legislation has been described by the Minister for Justice as “the most radical and comprehensive reform of our insolvency and bankruptcy law and practice since the foundation of the State.”
It provides for:
An application by Quinn family members to have court-appointed receivers removed and their solicitors discharged on the basis of an alleged conflict of interest and partiality has been dismissed by the Commercial Court.
The Personal Insolvency Bill has completed its passage through the Dáil (lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament)). The Bill is now moving through the Seanad (upper house of the Oireachtas), where its provisions are subject to debate and amendment. The Minister for Justice recently confirmed his intention that the Bill will become law by Christmas.
The Bill provides for:
In a recent High Court case, a liquidator sought an order declaring that certain payments made by a company prior to its liquidation were a ‘fraudulent preference’ and invalid. The company had made payments to its overdrawn bank account which was personally guaranteed by one of its directors. It was alleged that the payments were made in order to reduce the company’s overdraft and therefore, the director’s own personal exposure under the guarantees.
The Take-Away
Missing the limitations period for bringing a court action to recover a debt does not extinguish other legal rights and remedies in respect of that debt, such as bringing an application for bankruptcy or proving a claim in a bankruptcy estate.
The Case
In the recent decision of Frank v. Farlie, Turner & Co., LLC, 2011 ONSC 5519, Mr. Justice Perell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found, among other things, that punitive damages are not available under Part XXIII.1 of the Ontario Securities Act as such damages are inconsistent with the scheme and purpose of Ontario’s statutory secondary market disclosure liability regime. In so doing, the court confirmed the fundamental importance of liability limits in continuous disclosure claims against directors and officers.
- Leases Over One Year Must be Registered in all Provinces Except Québec
In recent years the Ontario Personal Property Security Act (“PPSA”) changed the scope of its application to include all leases for a term of more than one year, regardless of whether it is a “true” or “financing” lease. This is a different rule than exists in the United States and one often missed on cross border transactions.
Cinram International Income Fund (TSX: CRW.UN), a Canadian company that is one of the world’s largest providers of multi-media products, has sought and obtained protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The company proposes to sell its assets and businesses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany to Najafi Companies.
Cinram International Income Fund (TSX: CRW.UN), a Canadian company that is one of the world’s largest providers of multi-media products, has agreed to sell virtually all of its assets and businesses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany to Najafi Companies after obtaining creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
The term “pre-pack”, as it relates to insolvency sales, can have different meanings in different jurisdictions. In essence it refers to a sale of a distressed company or asset where the purchaser or investor has been identified and the terms of the sale have been fully negotiated before an insolvency process occurs. The advantage to the “pre-pack” structure is that the sale can be completed immediately upon or closely after the appointment of the insolvency office holder and, critically, without material interruption to the trading activity of the target company or asset.