In the second of our series of articles on the much anticipated Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the “Bill”), which will enact various new corporate restructuring tools well as make temporary changes to insolvency law as a result of the coronavirus, we focus on the temporary changes to the law regarding the suspension of liability for directors for wrongful trading during the coronavirus pandemic.
The much anticipated Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill(the “Bill”), which will enact various new corporate restructuring tools as well as the temporary changes to insolvency law that have been announced by the government since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, was finally published on Wednesday 20 May.
View our series of articles summarising the Bill:
The Government has now published the much anticipated Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the “Bill”), which will introduce various new corporate restructuring tools as well as the temporary changes to insolvency law that have been announced by the Government since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Takeaways
Two courts recently answered “yes,” finding that environmental claims brought against reorganized debtors by government entities were discharged under confirmed Chapter 11 plans of reorganization. In In re Exide Techs., 613 B.R. 79 (D. Del. 2020), the District of Delaware held that pre-petition, non-compensatory air quality penalties imposed on a Chapter 11 debtor by a state regulator were subject to discharge in bankruptcy. And in In re Peabody Energy Corp.
I.Exide Techs.: the Bankruptcy Code’s Exceptions to Dischargeability
Yes, says the First Circuit. The First Circuit recently affirmed the District Court’s decision to deny a group of bondholders’ (the “Bondholders”) motion to have a trustee appointed for the Employees Retirement System of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the “System”) under section 926 of the Bankruptcy Code. Section 926 of the Bankruptcy Code allows a court to appoint a trustee to pursue avoidance actions in Chapter 9 cases.
In the wake of the high profile collapse of the private equity firm Abraaj Capital, the Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”) updated its insolvency regime with the introduction on June 13, 2019 of the new DIFC Insolvency Law (Law No.1 of 2019) (the “DIFC Insolvency Law”).
Two recent cases demonstrate the efficacy of existing restructuring regimes under Irish company law and more particularly that the Courts in Ireland are receptive and efficient in approving and implementing large multi-jurisdictional restructuring schemes.
Ballantyne – Scheme of Arrangement
Disagreeing with the much-critiqued SDNY opinion in Enron, the SDNY bankruptcy court disallowed claims brought by secondary transferees because the original claimants allegedly received millions of dollars in fraudulent transfers and preferences from the Debtors that have not been repaid. Deepening the district spilt on the nature of Section 502(d) of the Bankruptcy Code, the Court held that the defense barring fraudulent transfer-tainted claims focuses on claims—not claimants—and cannot be “washed clean” by a subsequent transfer in the secondary market.
This week marks another critical juncture in the ongoing fight against the economic challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis. With the jobs retention scheme portal now open for applications since Monday 20 April 2020, many businesses and employers are hoping to receive funds from HMRC promptly in order to fulfil payroll obligations by month end and ease any immediate cash flow concerns.