Early last week PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc., in its capacity as trustee in bankruptcy for Sequoia Resources Corp., filed a statement of claim against Perpetual Energy Inc., attempting to unwind an asset sale from Oct. 1, 2016. Alternatively, PwC is seeking $217-million in damages. Along with Perpetual, PwC has named certain subsidiaries and its CEO, Susan Riddell Rose, as defendants.

In its statement of claim, the plaintiff is relying upon legal principles associated with oppression, reviewable transactions in insolvencies and regulatory law in support of its action.

In our update this month we take a look at some of the recent cases that will be of interest to those involved in insolvency litigation. These include:

In an insolvency, the three heads of set-off (contractual, legal and equitable) each represent a powerful means of effectively jumping the queue and circumventing the ordinary priority scheme between a company's secured and unsecured creditors.

The government action bar provides that a relator may not bring a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit “based upon allegations or transactions which are the subject of a civil suit or anadministrative civil money penalty proceeding in which the Government is already a party.” 31 U.S.C. § 3730(e)(3) (emphasis added). Recently, in Schagrin v. LDR Industries, LLC, No. 14 C 9125, 2018 WL 2332252 (N.D. Ill.

The new housing administration regime for registered providers of social housing is now in force. Our latest Insight introduces the new legislation and highlights some of the key ways in which a housing administration will differ from a normal administration process.

On May 25, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court decision finding that producer Sabine Oil and Gas Corp. could reject certain midstream gathering contracts in its bankruptcy case.i

The Court of Appeal considers 'reasonable adjustment' in the context of possession proceedings

The first case in which the Equalities legislation has been raised as a defence to a mortgagee's claim for possession has recently been before the Court of Appeal.

The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the Bankruptcy Court) issued an opinion on April 9, 2018 recognizing and enforcing a scheme of arrangement that contained non-consensual releases of non-debtor subsidiary guarantors under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Bankruptcy Court held that, in certain situations, such non-debtor releases may be approved and enforced in chapter 15 proceedings based upon principles of comity, even where similar arrangements would be impermissible in a chapter 11 proceeding. 

In our update this month we take a look at some of the recent cases that will be of interest to those involved in insolvency litigation. These include;

In the final part of this series, we look at how you can protect your position and be prepared in the event of an impending insolvency.

Thinking ahead

It is always prudent to assess insolvency risk before finalising a contract. The trading history and financial position of a company should be carefully reviewed and a financial risk assessment made at both the outset and during the lifetime of a project. Obtain an up to date set of accounts and a credit report before entering into your contract to enable you to assess the counterparty's financial viability.