A lawyer’s usual task is to help solve the client’s current problem: resolve a dispute; close a loan; obtain a permit; avoid a conviction; etc. Lawyers are so task oriented that some consultants advise us to have task specific engagement understandings and send dis-engagement letters when a task is complete. For bankruptcy lawyers representing individuals in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the task at hand is getting clients to and through a confirmed Chapter 13 plan with the promised debt relief and fresh start.
Lawyers representing creditors often compete with federal government claims against the same insolvent borrower/debtor. There are several common federal statutes that impact these disputes including: 11 U.S.C. Section 507[1]; 26 U.S.C. Section 6321[2], et seq.; and 31 U.S.C.
The Advocate General Kokott (AG) has given her opinion in Grenville Hampshire -v- The Board of the Pension Protection Fund [2018] (Case C-17/17). This challenges the level of compensation offered by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and could result in increased payments for members.
Background
Mr Hampshire initially brought the case to the Court of Appeal in July 2016, claiming that his pension was cut by 67 per cent when his company scheme was transferred into the PPF.
There are two aspects of wrongful trading and misfeasance that are of interest (i) board directors (and those advising the board) must be aware of the duties that the directors are subject to in performing their role as directors and the liability that attaches to breach of those duties and (ii) companies may be affected by the wrongful trading/misfeasance of customers/suppliers which impacts on trading.
The compulsory liquidation of Carillion is likely to have a wide ranging effect on the construction industry in the UK. The impact may well be felt by other contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers as well as engaged professionals such as architects, engineers and project managers. The insolvency may give rise to calls on bonds or guarantees and affect insurance arrangements.
In this bulletin we summarise what has happened and offer immediate advice.
The decision in Green -v- Wright was handed down in the Court of Appeal on 1 March 2017 and seeks to address the following issues:
- Whether a trust created in an individual voluntary agreement (IVA) terminates on completion.
- What is the definition of a ‘creditor’ for the purposes of an IVA?
- What is the effect of a certificate of completion?
Does a trust terminate?
In an important Court of Appeal (CoA) decision handed down on 1 March 2017, the CoA has clarified the position for banks, lenders and insolvency practitioners regarding realisation of assets after certificates of completion have been issued in individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs).
In the week that Leicester City overcame odds of 5000/1 to be crowned Premier League champions, the insurance market was (almost) as astounded at the news that the long-awaited Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010, which received Royal Assent on 25 March 2010, will be coming into force on 1 August 2016.
Recent developments in landlord and tenant law concerning the position of the outgoing tenant’s guarantor on the assignment of the lease can only be described as ‘bonkers’. A few years ago, the Good Harvest and House of Fraser cases confirmed that a parent company could not guarantee both of its subsidiaries on an intra-group assignment. Last month, in the EMI case, the High Court has confirmed that the assignment of a lease to the tenant’s guarantor is similarly void.
Happy anniversary
Draft regulations were laid before Parliament on 25 February 2016 to amend the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010
The Act, when it comes into force, will make it more straightforward for claimants to cut through directly to insurers when policyholders become insolvent. It has been six years since the Act was passed. These proposed amendments are another step on what has been a slow road towards bringing the Act into force.