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  1. Introduction

    The pace at which Corona-Pandemic restricts our way of life and imposes severe consequences on our economy is breathtaking. The results are already evident today with more to come. In widespread parts of the economy, current developments lead to considerable loss of income and drastic decreases in sales and profits.

  1. Introduction

    The situation due to the coronavirus has resulted in a massive disruption and to some extent even in a complete standstill of public and social life with far-reaching consequences for the national and international economy. The recent border closures will have a further impact on the movement of people and goods.

    As a result, the German Federal Government has announced that it will provide several instruments to reduce the impact of the situation:

Introduction

On August 29, 2019, the majority of the Alberta Court of Appeal held in Canada v. Canada North Group Inc., 2019 ABCA 314 (Canada North) that priming charges granted in a Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) Initial Order can have priority over the Crown’s deemed trust for unremitted source deductions. [1]

Holders of trademark licenses can breathe a sigh of relief after the Supreme Court issued its decision on May 20, 2019, in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC[1] holding that a debtor-licensor’s rejection of a trademark licensing agreement under section 365 of the bankruptcy code does not automatically terminate the licensee’s right to continue using the trademark.

I. Introduction

Italy has replaced its Bankruptcy Act of 1942 with a comprehensive reform, the process for which started two years ago. On 19 October 2017, Parliament passed Law No. 155 of 2017 delegating the Government to adopt, within the next 12 months, a comprehensive reform of the rules governing financial crises and insolvency procedures. On 10 January 2019, the Government approved Legislative Decree No. 14 of 2019, captioned “Code for Distress and Insolvency” (Codice della Crisi d’Impresa e dell’Insovenza—the “Code”).

In 2012, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment issued a clean-up order against 13 former directors of Northstar Aerospace Canada. Northstar was bankrupt and the directors had to pay millions because the company’s D&O policy excluded pollution. A recent article by Greg Meckbach in Canadian Underwriter examines the effect that order has had on the commercial insurance industry in Canada.

At a time when the actions of directors, both collectively and individually, have received considerable attention in both the academic and public press, the need for directors to understand their duties, and the steps that can be taken to fulfill their obligations and minimise potential liabilities, becomes especially important.

This article considers: