Dubai's announcement on 25 November 2009 that it would seek a standstill (the "Standstill Announcement") on the debt of Dubai World, a Government of Dubai holding company, whose principal business activities include the master developers Nakheel and Limitless, port operator DP World, and investment house Istithmar, caused a considerable impact across world markets and widespread comment amongst the world media.

Following the Standstill Announcement a number of significant events and further announcements have taken place, principal amongst these have been:

In an Opinion issued on December 2, 2009 in the Washington Mutual, Inc. ("WaMu") Chapter 11 case, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court held that Bankruptcy Rule 2019 clearly applies to "ad hoc committees," regardless of how they might try to disclaim collective action. As a result, the members of an informal group of WaMu bondholders must now provide detailed information concerning their holdings, including a history of when they bought and sold their bonds and the prices paid. Perhaps more importantly, the Opinion packs a second bombshell.

In the chapter 11 proceedings for ION Media Networks, a distressed fund (Cyrus) purchased second lien debt and then employed what the Court characterized as "aggressive bankruptcy litigation tactics as a means to gain negotiating leverage." In a November 24, 2009 Memorandum Decision, Judge James Peck of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York stopped Cyrus in its tracks, holding that the Intercreditor Agreement (ICA) between the first lien and second lien lenders would be enforced to deny Cyrus (i) the ability to assert that certain assets were outside of th

Following concerns expressed by the Insolvency Service and reports showing that corporate insolvency costs are higher in the UK than other European countries, the Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) has announced that it will conduct a market study into the UK corporate insolvency market. The study will also look into the process for appointing insolvency practitioners. The OFT will be contacting key players in the market directly, and other interested parties are invited to make submissions.

Market studies

Summary and implications

Now, more than at any other time of this economic cycle, landlords are faced with the prospect of dealing with tenants who have entered one of the various stages of insolvency and require straightforward solutions to bring their tenancy to an end. Often landlords wish to;

In U.S. v. Apex Oil, a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit ruled 3-0 that EPA’s cleanup injunction against the corporate successor to a chemical company was not discharged in Chapter 11 because the injunction does not create a right to payment and, consequently, is not a ‘debt’ under the Bankruptcy Code.

Only twice has the U.S. Supreme Court spoken directly to environmental issues in bankruptcy – until now. Today the Supreme Court ruled that certain claims can in fact be barred by a bankruptcy court's channeling injunction. The case is particularly important in light of the major corporate bankruptcies now under way in the industrial sector, where environmental costs can drive the success or failure of a restructuring.

The PPF has issued a good practice guide for trustees of schemes with an insolvent employer, which is aimed at taking them through the assessment period effectively and efficiently and which takes into account the PPF's experience of the common issues experienced by trustees during an assessment period.

On 21 October 2008, after a year-long investigation, the European Commission (Commission) approved a restructuring plan designed to restore the viability of the French household firm FagorBrandt. The firm produces a range of large household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and stoves. The proposed restructuring plans will include the sale of certain activities and plant closures and a refocus on high added value products.

On 14 March 2008 the Court of First Instance (CFI) issued two orders rejecting applications for interim measures by two subsidiaries of a Polish steel producer (Buczek) to suspend the application of a Commission recovery decision pending the final judgment in the case. Between 1997 and 2003 Poland was granted a derogation from the general prohibition on restructuring aid to the steel sector. The derogation was conditional upon Poland implementing a restructuring plan. Aid was provided to Buczek, who failed to properly implement its restructuring plan and went bankrupt in 2006.