The Bottom Line
Recently, in In re Dura Automotive Systems, No. 19-12378 (Bankr. D. Del. June 9, 2020), the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware held that granting the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the Committee) derivative standing on behalf of the debtors – a Delaware limited liability company – was precluded by the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (the Delaware LLC Act).
What Happened?
As the lockdown restrictions ease and employers slowly return to more normal ways of working, it is unfortunately inevitable that the impact of the coronavirus means some businesses will have to implement restructures and redundancies in order to survive.
This article looks at the key employment law provisions in restructuring/redundancy situations and offers practical guidance for managing these challenging processes.
Restructures and reorganisations
Background
Bresco Electrical Services Ltd (In Liquidation) -v- Michael J Lonsdale (Electrical) Ltd [2020] UKSC 25
Section 82 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 prevents landlords from forfeiting ‘relevant business tenancies’ until 30 June, and possibly longer. Regulations have also been made restricting the use of commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR) during the same period, and emergency legislation is promised preventing landlords from serving statutory demands and instituting insolvency proceedings. But tenants should think twice before withholding rent and other lease payments, and landlords do not necessarily have to take a passive role.
The (the Bill) was given its first reading on Wednesday 20 May 2020. Parliament will not be considering the next stages of the Bill until 3 June 2020 so there is still some time, and possibly further amendments, before this is approved and given Royal Assent. More detailed notes will be provided once this Bill has been given Royal Assent, but the headline points of the current draft are:
Statutory demands
Historically, the interests of landlords whose commercial real estate is occupied by debtors in Chapter 11 proceedings have been generally well protected. Indeed, Section 365(d)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code requires the debtor to timely perform all of its post-petition obligations under its nonresidential leases of real property — most important among those, rent.
The Bottom Line
In Lariat Cos. v. Wigley(In re Wigley), Case No. 18-3489 (8th Cir. March 9, 2020), the Eighth Circuit held that a claim against Debtor B that arose out of a fraudulent transfer made by Debtor A to Debtor B was subject to the statutory cap applicable to lease rejection damages where Debtor A’s underlying liability was premised on its breach of a lease.
What Happened?