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In appointing restructuring provisional liquidators ("RPLs") to the Cayman Islands incorporated company, CW Group Holdings Limited ("CW"), in the face of opposition from a creditor seeking a remedy that may have led to CW's liquidation, the Cayman Islands court has reinforced its reputation in (i) putting company rescue first and (ii) seeking to ensure that returns to creditors are maximised. A significant step has also been taken in applying a more commercial and pragmatic reality to the question of officeholder independence.

The Bottom Line

The Third Circuit, in a nonprecedential opinion in FBI Wind Down, Inc. Liquidating Trust v. Heritage Home Group, LLC (In re FBI Wind Down Inc.), Case No. 17-2315 (3d Cir. July 27, 2018), recently held that the bankruptcy court retained jurisdiction over the parties’ dispute that centered on the definition of terms in a court-approved asset purchase agreement because the claims fell outside the scope of an arbitration provision in the agreement.

What Happened?

In Ctrip Investment Holding Ltd v eHi Car Services Limited the Cayman Islands Court delivered a warning to shareholders seeking to use the winding up jurisdiction to advance their own individual commercial interests.

The Bottom Line

The District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently held in Segner v. Ruthven Oil & Gas, LLC, No. 3:12-CV-1318-B, 2018 WL 3155827 (N.D. Tex. June 28, 2018) that failure to comply with a disclosure law when documenting a transaction does not deprive a defendant in a fraudulent transfer action from asserting a good faith defense.

What Happened?

The timing of the commencement of the voluntary liquidation of a Cayman Islands company was often driven primarily by the desire to avoid incurring the following year’s annual government fees. To avoid those fees, the liquidation had to commence by December, with the final meeting being held before the end of January. This timetable resulted in an effective dissolution date into the next calendar year, while still avoiding the government fees for that year.