In the Matter of Global Cord Blood Corporation (FSD 108 of 2022, 31 March 2023), Kawaley J confirmed and clarified the legal test that applies when a third party seeks to be heard on a winding up petition. The case is a reminder that, generally speaking, only legal shareholders of a company are entitled to be joined to petition proceedings or present a contributory's petition.
The continued fall-out of the high-profile collapse of the Three Arrows crypto fund has seen another development, with the BVI Court permitting alternative service by Twitter after the collapsed fund's directors failed to appear for examination before the BVI Court. [1]
On April 17, 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Matter of RE Palm Springs II, L.L.C., 2023 WL 2966520 (5th Cir. April 17, 2023), held that a senior lender who uses economic leverage and asserts its legal rights to squeeze out a junior lender remains a good faith purchaser entitled to declare an appeal moot based on a sale under section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code. Key to the Fifth Circuit’s opinion was the fact that the actions in question were disclosed to the bankruptcy court in advance of it making the section 363(m) finding.
Facts
Many businesses continue to experience unprecedented pressure on their cash flow given, among other things, the continued fall-out from the global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, rising interest rates, the end of cheap debt and the expected global downturn.
To mitigate their exposure to personal liability, it's important that directors of insolvent companies or companies in the zone of insolvency comply with their duties to act in the best interests of the company as a whole. This includes the interests of creditors as a whole.
In a recent judgment, Justice Doyle considered the principles applicable in agreeing to adjourn the hearing of a winding up petition. He granted only a short adjournment to allow opposing experts time to prepare a joint memorandum to assist the Court in determining issues related to the standing of the petitioner and issues in relation to its debt. The debtor's application for a longer adjournment was dismissed.
Non-profits are just like for-profit companies in that they can be faced with significant financial challenges for which bankruptcy provides an opportunity for restructuring or liquidation for the benefit of their creditors and other stakeholders. Many times, particularly in the areas of healthcare and religious institutions, non-profit bankruptcies raise complex and novel insolvency issues. This blog post discusses four of the unique aspects of non-profit bankruptcies.
1. Non-profits are not subject to involuntary bankruptcy.
Over the past two years, there has been an interesting trend of courts, in certain circumstances, borrowing from principles of insolvency law when determining analogous questions of trust law. Most recently, the private wealth industry has seen this very application in connection with the now infamous proceedings relating to the trust known as the Ironzar II Trust[1].
Bankruptcy lawyers recently gained access to a promising technology for improving the efficiency of tasks like drafting a motion for relief from stay. ChatGPT allows users to employ generative artificial intelligence by chatting with a chatbot on OpenAI’s website https://chat.openai.com/chat.
This entry is part of Nelson Mullins’s ongoing “Bankruptcy Basics” blog series that is intended to address foundational aspects of bankruptcy for new and non-bankruptcy practitioners and professionals. This entry will discuss the general structure of bankruptcy cases and the differences between “adversary proceedings” and “contested matters.”
Facts
Insolvency Act 2003
Comment
In the Three Arrows case,(1) the BVI Court has endorsed what is believed to be its first extra-territorial order summoning directors of a BVI company (in liquidation) to appear for private examination by joint liquidators.