A recent New York bankruptcy case holds that shareholders, directors and officers who dissolve a corporation to avoid paying a judgment against the business may be jointly and severally liable for a non-dischargeable debt in their personal bankruptcies.

The new bankruptcy provisions contained in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 were commenced yesterday. The Act has been in force since 2 August.

The new provisions allow for automatic discharge on the 12th anniversary of a bankruptcy adjudication order and a reduction in the period for application for discharge from bankruptcy to five years from 12 years.

If there was such a contest, the 232-unit Spa at Sunset Isles would be in the running for "worst case scenario" condo-conversion.  Here is a summary of the development's situation as it existed in late 2010:  

The Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 was signed into law by the President on 2 August 2011.  The Act provides for certain provisions, concerning private security services, bankruptcy and family mediation services, to come into operation on such days as the Minister for Justice and Equality, by order, appoints. All other provisions of the Act came into force on 2 August.

The Act introduces a number of important reforms across a broad range of areas, including:

While 90 percent of life may be just showing up, showing up late may be just as bad as never showing up at all. Just ask two creditors who were told for the second time they cannot file claims in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy case because they filed their claims too late.

A recent New York bankruptcy case holds that the Bankruptcy Code's limitations on using avoidance actions to undo securities transactions did not apply where the underlying transactions did not implicate the public securities market. A debtor or bankruptcy trustee has the power and obligation to recover transfers made by the debtor, prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy case, that were either actually or constructively fraudulent. There are, however, certain enumerated limitations to this power.

In brief

A recent decision by the New South Wales Court of Appeal in Buzzle Operations Pty Ltd (in liq) –v- Apple Computer Australia Pty Ltd [2011] NSWCA 109 provides useful guidance on the key aspects of shadow directorships and to what extent advices can be given by an interested party such as a financial accountant or a lender to a debtor without that interested party falling within the definition of "shadow director".

Background

Island One, Inc. to Emerge from Bankruptcy

On 25 March 2011 the High Court delivered a judgment concluding that a notice of crystallisation served by a bank (who held fixed and floating charges) on three corporate borrowers shortly before they were placed into liquidation did not alter the order of priorities.

On 22 February the European Council published guidelines for the rescue and restructuring of financial institutions. The objective of the initiative is to maintain a level playing field between member states granting state aid measures for the rescue and/or restructuring of a financial institution in difficulty.