Judges of Barcelona unify principles on certain points of insolvency law

International case law

European jurisprudence on universal and territorial procedures

Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of April 18, 2024 (AIR BERLIN case)

Insurers with unwanted runoff blocks of business should consider the latest guidance from insurance regulators on potential transactional structures that could mitigate this issue.

2024: main new legislation needing to be considered by companies in Spain 2024 Viewpoint Spain 2 2024: main new legislation needing to be considered by companies in Spain December 2023 Professionals in the various practice areas at Garrigues take a look, from all angles of business law, at the main new legislation that companies will face in the coming year. 2024 promises to be an intense year in terms of statutory and case law.

Companies in Chapter 11 must publicly report substantial financial information — indeed, more information should be reported or available publicly in Chapter 11 than outside of Chapter 11. This paper analyzes what information must be publicly reported or disclosed under the securities laws, the Bankruptcy Code and Bankruptcy Rules; what debtors do to minimize public reporting; and what creditors can do to get the public reporting they deserve.

Debtors May Stop Public Reports Under the Securities Laws.

La nueva regulación concursal permite a los acreedores de una compañía insolvente convertirse en nuevos dueños con un plan de reestructuración homologado por un juez. El caso Celsa, el primero en el que unos fondos han presentado un plan hostil para hacerse con la empresa, anima a que las empresas familiares tomen medidas de manera anticipada.

What Happened?

This morning, after much anticipation, the Supreme Court has released its judgment in Yan v Mainzeal Property Construction Limited (in liq) [2023] NZSC 113, largely upholding the Court of Appeal's decision, and awarding damages of $39.8m against the directors collectively, with specified limits for certain directors. The decision signals that a strong emphasis on 'creditor protection' is now embedded in New Zealand company law.

In recent years much ink has been spilled opining on the so called 'Quincecare' duty of care, and the limits of it (see links to our recent insolvency law updates covering the topic below). The judgment in Barclays Bank plc v Quincecare Ltd [1992] 4 All ER 363 was a first instance decision on Steyn J, in which he found that a bank has a duty not to execute a payment instruction given by an agent of its customer without making inquiries if the bank has reasonable grounds for believing that the agent is attempting to defraud the customer.

The Bottom Line

One feature commonly seen in commercial lending transactions is a waiver of the borrower’s authority to file for bankruptcy without the consent of the lender. While such “blocking” provisions are generally upheld where the equity interest holders are the parties with such rights, they are generally unenforceable as a matter of public policy when such protection is given to a creditor with no meaningful ownership interest in the corporate debtor.