This case was an emergency interlocutory application by Mr Hennessy to prevent a receiver – Ken Tyrrell – and Everyday Finance DAC (the "Defendants") from taking possession, marketing and/or selling charged lands in County Laois (the "charged lands" or the "lands").

Although there is no technical requirement for a judgment to apply to make a debtor a bankrupt (as confirmed by the Supreme Court in Harrahill v Cuddy[1]), the Court has a very wide discretion to refuse to issue a bankruptcy summons. Therefore, an applicant will typically rely on a judgment to ground a bankruptcy petition.

Background

Introduction

On March 30, 2022, in the context of receivership proceedings of Balanced Energy Oilfield Services Inc., Balanced Energy Oilfield Services (USA) Inc. and Balanced Energy Holdings Inc. (collectively, the Debtors), the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (the Court) issued an order, among other things

Introduction

On March 30, 2022, in the context of receivership proceedings of Balanced Energy Oilfield Services Inc., Balanced Energy Oilfield Services (USA) Inc. and Balanced Energy Holdings Inc. (collectively, the Debtors), the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (the Court) issued an order, among other things

Due to a number of factors, including the extent of available capital in the markets and the continued backstop provided by government programs designed to blunt the economic effects of the pandemic, 2021 was not the apocalypse many were predicting. Nevertheless, Canadian restructuring professionals and courts continued to confront and overcome issues in a number of important areas, including extraordinary first day relief, good faith and lack thereof, eligible financial contracts and liquidating Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA) proceedings.

The High Court recently extended the bankruptcy period of an Irish businessman to a total of 13 years.

The usual bankruptcy term is one year, however this can be extended in cases of non-cooperation or non-disclosure of assets with the maximum term being 15 years.

On Monday 8 November, the High Court imposed one of the longest ever disqualification periods for a company director. The Court held that this was "one of the most extreme cases of using a company for [oil] laundering", and granted an application on behalf of the liquidator of Gaboto Limited for the disqualification of the two directors for a period of fifteen years.

While examinership is a successful and internationally recognised rescue process for Irish companies, there has been a concern for some time that is out of reach of smaller businesses due to the associated costs. As part of the government’s response to the economic challenges of the pandemic, the Department of Enterprise has published a rescue process for small and micro businesses.

On April 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an application for leave to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal of Québec (QCA) in Séquestre de Media5 Corporation, 2020 QCCA 943, which had put an end to a long-lasting debate on the availability of ‘national’ receivers to Québec secured creditors. The decision of the QCA is now final.

The High Court has recently brought welcome clarity to how pensions are dealt with in the event of a bankruptcy, in the case of Lehane –v- Wealth Options and Brian O'Neill.