Fulltext Search

On April 12, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a blog post titled “Busting myths about bankruptcy and private student loans.” In the blog post, the CFPB argues that certain private education loans can be discharged in bankruptcy. Specifically, the CFPB argues that the following private student loans can be discharged without a showing of undue hardship and an adversary proceeding:

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion that potentially broadens the proximate cause element of claims brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). RICO’s proximate cause element requires a plaintiff to allege facts plausibly establishing that there is a “direct relationship” between the claimed injury and the defendant’s conduct in violation of RICO.

In the latest edition of Going concerns, Stephenson Harwood's restructuring and insolvency team touches on the extent of the automatic stay arising from the recognition of a foreign main proceeding under the Singapore Model Law cross-border recognition regime, the requirements for a pre-pack scheme of arrangement under the recent Singapore Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, and the importance of Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") in the restructuring context.

Contents

An important decision for employers and administrators has been handed down by the High Court in the case of R (Palmer, Forsey) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court [2021] EWHC 3013. The Judgment acts as a stark reminder to employers and company personnel about the criminal liability they can face for failing to notify the Secretary of State of proposed collective redundancies as well as confirming that that an administrator can be prosecuted personally.

Background

海航集团有限公司(于中国内地重整) [2021] HKCFI 2897(裁决日期:2021 年 9 月 16 日) 

前言

海航集团有限公司(一家总部设在海南的大型企业,下称“公司”)的内地重整程序最近在香港获得认可。这是香港法院首次向 内地重整程序的破产管理人颁发认可令的案例。 

Grand Peace Group Holdings Limited [2021] HKCFI 2361 (Date of Decision: 24 August 2021)

Up Energy Development Group Limited [2021] HKCFI 2595 (Date of Decision: 31 August 2021)

Introduction

The vast majority of listed companies in Hong Kong are incorporated offshore, with a corporate structure that the operating and asset owning subsidiaries in Mainland China are held through intermediate subsidiaries incorporated in offshore jurisdictions such as BVI and Cayman Islands etc.

The year is 2012, and the biotech you founded has just received FDA approval for a wildly promising product with significant differentiation from other products in its class. You only have 35 employees, but begin to build a lean, incentive-based salesforce to launch your novel commercialization strategy built on a specialty distribution model, high-touch reimbursement support, aggressive marketing tactics, and premium pricing. Hiring a compliance officer is not a priority at this time.

The High Court has, for the first time since the introduction of the legislation in June 2020, refused to sanction a cross-class cram-down restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act. In In the matter of Hurricane Energy Plc [2021] EWHC 1759 (Ch), the court rejected a plan supported by bondholders because it had not been shown that the opposing shareholders had no better alternative prospects (i.e., the ‘no worse off condition’ had not been met).