On April 16, General Growth Properties, Inc. and certain of its affiliates (“GGP”) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. GGP operates a national network of approximately 200 shopping centers. To the surprise of many, most of GGP’s property-specific SPE subsidiaries (“SPE Debtors”) also filed for bankruptcy.

Company Voluntary Arrangements ("CVAs") have been in the news recently for all of the right reasons. The CVA proposal advanced by JJB Sports was approved by an overwhelming majority of creditors. This has allowed the survival of JJB Sports (JJB) in its current form and allayed fears that the company would be forced into administration or liquidation with consequent job losses and further detriment to creditors.

In the Budget, the Government announced two consultation processes aimed at breathing new life into the rescue culture.

The Insolvency Service intends to consult on the desirability of super-priority status for funding to companies that are in administration or that are subject to a company voluntary arrangement. Such a super-priority would allow lenders to participate in the restructuring and recovery of such companies to a greater degree.

After a relatively brief and checkered stint in Delaware courts, it appears that the cause of action against corporate directors for “deepening insolvency” may have lost its place in Delaware corporate jurisprudence.

The 22nd of April 2009 brings in significant changes to rules relating to arrestment and actions of furthcoming. The Bankruptcy and Diligence etc (Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement No. 4, Savings and Transitionals) Order 2009 brings into force Section 10 of the 2007 Act which inserts Part 3A into the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987. The provisions coming into effect include:

On 22nd April 2009, some significant changes to debt recovery legislation are due to come into force, affecting the procedures relating to inhibitions in Scotland. The provisions are a further step in the implementation of changes which are designed to make the debt recovery process more 'user friendly'. Part 5 of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc (Scotland) Act 2007 brings about the following changes/clarifications:

In April 2008 the Bankruptcy & Diligence (Scotland) Act 2007 ("the Act") introduced a new regime for obtaining permission for (and recalling) diligence on the dependence of a court action (i.e. arrestment and inhibition). In terms of the Act, before granting (or recalling) warrant for diligence, the court must be satisfied that:

With administrations and liquidations on the rise, companies may well-find that they occupy premises under a sub-lease where their immediate landlord has become insolvent and we look at their rights and how the position differs north and south of the border.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania recently found that a bankruptcy trustee could not either pierce the corporate veil of a limited liability company to reach the owners of the LLC, nor could the trustee “reverse-pierce” the corporate veil of the owners of the LLC to reach a separate restaurant business that they owned.

On March 12, West Coast Life Insurance Co. added civil conspiracy and several violations of Florida law to a complaint alleging that an investment company, several insurance brokers and individual policyholders engaged in an illegal stranger-owned life insurance (STOLI) scheme. The amended complaint alleges that Park Venture Advisors masterminded and implemented the plan, which involved the sale of individual life insurance policies to private investors, while Wells Fargo Delaware Trust Co.