Against the backdrop of the insolvency of Scottish companies carrying on business in India, a recent decision of the Inner House of the Court of Session has considered the competency of seeking declaratory orders in petition procedure.
Background
In October 2016, we reported on a Court of Session decision which concerned three Scottish registered companies carrying on business in India and which had been placed into administration under the Insolvency Act 1986.
Can a Creditors Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) lead to a stay in the enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision?
In January of this year the Court of Appeal refused to stay enforcement of an adjudication award due to a CVA ((1838) Cannon Corporate Limited v Primus Build Limited [2019] EWCA Civ 27). Four months later another enforcement decision against a company subject to a CVA came before the Technology and Construction Court (TCC). This time a stay was granted – so what was the difference?
Introduction
A party on the receiving end of an adjudication is usually in a difficult position. Its situation is only made worse if the referring party is insolvent.
In such a situation, if the adjudicator makes an award in favour of the insolvent company the chances of subsequently recovering any sums awarded in litigation are very limited. While a stay to enforcement may be available, there are costs associated with obtaining a stay which will probably also be irrecoverable.
A trustee in bankruptcy lost all rights to the proceeds of sale of a freehold property after he disclaimed title to it
Background
Mr Sleight was the trustee in bankruptcy of an insolvent estate. The deceased’s assets included several freehold properties that were charged to banks where the value of the property was less than the amounts due under the charges. Given the negative equity, the trustee in bankruptcy disclaimed title to these properties as they constituted “onerous property”.
Pensions New (PN) has often had cause to ask himself what he knows. A similar sort of question was frequently posed by the French essayist, Michel de Montaigne. Montaigne lived between 1533 and 1592 and he answered this question over the course of a period of time during which he produced several volumes of great essays. In those volumes, Montaigne covered many subjects however he never covered the subject of the occupational defined benefit pension scheme. So far PN knows, this is the first article ever written about Montaigne’s relationshi
On 31 October 2018 the Supreme Court issued its Judgment in the appeal of Dooneen Ltd (t/a McGinness Associates) and another (Respondents) v Mond (Appellant) (Scotland) [2018] UKSC 54.
The appeal had been brought by Mr Mond who had sought to overturn the decision of the Inner House of the Court of Session (Dooneen Ltd & Others V Mond [2016] CSIH 59).
Factual background
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.
Following the liquidation of BHS Ltd, the High Court was asked to consider whether a landlord could claim full rent as an administration expense following termination of the CVA.
Background
Wright and another (Liquidators of SHB Realisations Ltd) v The Prudential Assurance Company Ltd concerned three principal insolvency processes applicable to companies under the Insolvency Act 1986: