In Vasudevan v Becon Contructions (Australia) Pty Ltd [2014] VSCA 14, the Victorian Court of Appeal recently delivered a decision which has broadened the scope of an unreasonable director-related transaction under section 588FDA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)(Act). Senior Associate, Elisabeth Pickthall and Associate, Stefano Calabretta discuss the case.
The facts
A recent case involving frozen funds held by American Express in the US has highlighted the difficulty of enforcing freezing orders internationally. In this particular instance, Warren Jiear, Head of Piper Alderman’s Insolvency team, was able to use this to assist liquidator, Blair Pleash of Hall Chadwick, to recover substantial funds owing to an insolvent company.
Earlier this year, we reported on a decision limiting a secured creditor's right to credit bid purchased debt (capping the credit bid at the discounted price paid for the debt) to facilitate an auction in Fisker Automotive Holdings' chapter 11 case.1 In the weeks that followed, the debtor held a competitive (nineteen-round) auction and ultimately selected Wanxiang America Corporation, rather than the secured creditor, as the w
In a matter of first impression, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York recently held that former employees of a subcontractor of Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (“Hawker”)—a company that emerged from bankruptcy in 2013 and was purchased by Textron Inc.
In the recent matter of JP Morgan Chase Bank, National Association v Fletcher; Grant Samuel Corporate Finance Pty Ltd v Fletcher [2014] NSWCA 31, the NSW Court of Appeal handed down a decision with important consequences for liquidators and the time they have to commence proceedings for voidable transactions. The decision also illustrates the frequently inconsistent operation of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and Court procedure rules. Senior Associate, Elisabeth Pickthall and Associate, Stefano Calabretta discuss the decision.
In the recent matter of JP Morgan Chase Bank, National Association v Fletcher; Grant Samuel Corporate Finance Pty Ltd v Fletcher [2014] NSWCA 31, the NSW Court of Appeal handed down a decision with important consequences for liquidators and the time they have to commence proceedings for voidable transactions. The decision also illustrates the frequently inconsistent operation of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and Court procedure rules. Senior Associate, Elisabeth Pickthall and Associate, Stefano Calabretta discuss the decision.
Overview
A recent decision from the Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Texas concludes that directors of a non-debtor general partner may owe fiduciary duties to a limited partnership debtor in bankruptcy whether or not such duties exist (or have been disclaimed) under the debtor's and general partner's organizational documents or applicable state law.[1] In deciding whether to dismiss an involuntary petition filed against Houston Regional Sports Network, L.P.
It is common for liquidators (and all of us working in the insolvency industry) to work with a few firms or individuals and for referrals to predominantly be distributed amongst those. In the recent decision in Re Walton Construction Pty Ltd (In Liq); ASIC V Franklin [2014] FCA 68, the Federal Court considered when that relationship might amount to a conflict.