Co-author: Ben  Gibson, Barrister, Victorian Bar

Case Name:Bryant v Badenoch Integrated Logging Pty Ltd [2023] HCA 2

Issues: Voidable transactions and unfair preferences: abolition of the peak indebtedness rule, the existence of a continuing business relationship.

The abolition of the peak indebtedness rule will likely reduce the quantum of unfair preference claims where there is a running account and render some claims unviable for further pursuit.

Introduction for Insolvency & Restructuring Case Summaries 2021-2022 It gives us great pleasure to introduce our Insolvency & Restructuring Case Summaries 2021-2022.

This is the first year that we have published a collated version of the Case Summaries in addition to our regular insolvency InFocus updates. The Case Summaries have been produced in response to feedback that this would be a useful resource.

Summary

Once again, since spring 2020, the German legislator is adapting fundamental provisions of German insolvency law. Find out here what this is about and what implications the changes have for enterprises.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the obligation for businesses in Germany to file for insolvency was temporarily suspended by the COVID-19 Insolvency Suspension Act (COVInsAG). Accompanied by financial support measures, the German government wanted to counter the economic effects of the pandemic and enable companies to survive.

In significant news for the insolvency industry, the High Court will hear the long-awaited Gunns Group preference claim appeal in Bryant & Ors v Badenoch Integrated Logging (A10/2022) on 18 October 2022.

Johnson Winter & Slattery act for PwC, the appellant liquidators of the Gunns group, in the proceeding.

Briefly stated, the grounds for the appeal are:

Summary

In its recent judgment in Re Jabiru[1], the Supreme Court of New South Wales applied principles governing the appointment of Special Purpose Liquidators (SPL) in rejecting the Plaintiffs’ application for a SPL to be appointed to pursue claims against secured lenders.

In a recent Supreme Court of Victoria decision[1] in which we acted for the successful liquidators, the Court made various orders to enable the company to complete an ultra-efficient, streamlined second voluntary administration to expedite creditor consideration of a new DOCA proposal.

Key points

The recent Federal Court decision in Diversa Pty Ltd v Taiping Trustees Limited has highlighted some important risks faced by secured parties who don’t pay attention to the details when perfecting, and maintaining perfection of, their security.

The recent Federal Court decision in Diversa Pty Ltd v Taiping Trustees Limited has highlighted some important risks faced by secured parties who don’t pay attention to the details when perfecting, and maintaining perfection of, their security. Those risks include:

The bankruptcy Pegasus: stalking horse agreements in aviation

Summary

If a person presents a petition for their own bankruptcy (“self-petition”), are there any safeguards to ensure that the self-petition is genuine, as opposed to a cynical device by the person to buy themselves time to pay, or to give themselves some negotiating position with their creditors?

This interesting question was considered in a recent Hong Kong judgment.