An order recognising South Korean insolvency proceedings involving a shipping company, which had the effect of staying the commencement of actions against the company, was varied so that parties who had contracted with a Korean ship operator could pursue claims against it in London arbitration1.
Background
Here the Court of Appeal granted an injunction which restrained a building contractor (Harbour View) from presenting a winding-up petition, overturning the high court's decision at first instance. Harbour View had been engaged under two separate contracts based on a JCT Intermediate WCD (2011) to carry out works at two separate sites. The employer (Wilson) failed to pay against two interim certificates (August 2013 and September 2013), leaving a sum of over GBP 1.6 million owing.
Although almost eight years have lapsed since the chapter 11 cases of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based SemCrude L.P.
The recent further dip in oil price has placed even more pressure on the costs paid by Operators to Contractors, and also how much reliance Contractors can place on an Operator's promise to pay.
Introductory remarks
On July 23, 2015, in an action arising from the huge TCEH chapter 11 bankruptcy, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an opinion in Delaware Trust Company v.
Directors of companies incorporated in England and Wales must be mindful of their duties and responsibilities to the company as well as the potential personal liability that could arise from breaching those duties and responsibilities in the context of an insolvency.
With the current financial difficulties faced by the oil & gas industry, this issue is especially pertinent to that sector.
In April 2015, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal bought by The Trustees of the Olympic Airlines SA Pension and Life Assurance Scheme ("the Scheme") and held that Olympic Airlines SA ("Olympic Airlines") did not have an "establishment" in the UK when the Trustees presented a winding up petition in England on 20 July 2010.
The significance of the decision is that without a "qualifying insolvency event", the Scheme would not enter the Pension Protection Fund ("PPF") and is of significance for any defined benefit pension scheme of a UK branch office of an overseas company.
ICELAND INTRODUCES A PLAN TO LIFT CAPITAL CONTROLS
In a move that creditors have been waiting patiently forsince 2008, the Icelandic government has finally taken a step towards the lifting of capital controls which were imposed in Iceland after the financial crisis that will impact the main three failed banks;Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir.
Bankruptcies and restructurings involving partners and partnerships1 raise a number of unique tax issues. While the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has provided guidance with respect to a number of these issues, a surprising number of unresolved issues remain. The first part of this outline summarizes the state of the law with respect to general tax issues that typically arise in connection with partner and partnership bankruptcies and restructurings. The balance of the outline discusses tax issues that arise under Subchapter K when troubled partnerships are reorganized. II.