The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment on two appeals to decide whether the appellants had standing to challenge the conduct of a trustee in bankruptcy (“the Bankruptcy Appeal”) and joint liquidators (“the Liquidation Appeal”) respectively (Brake and others v Lowes and others [2020] EWCA Civ 1491). In this article, Tim Symes, a partner in our Insolvency and Commercial Litigation teams, examines the Court of Appeal’s decision.

Secured lenders across the UK are unhappy with the government’s decision to push through a new law which could partly or fully wipe out their security in favour of HMRC debts in a liquidation or administration. In this article,  Tim Symes, a partner in our Insolvency and Commercial Litigation teams, considers the return of HMRC’s Crown preference.

Background

The government has published draft regulations designed to tighten up how administration sales to connected parties will work. The hope is that this will increase creditor confidence and improve transparency in the process.

So, what are pre-pack administrations, what is wrong with them, and what is the government going to do about it?

What are pre-pack administrations?

A pre-pack administration is simply a ‘teed up’ sale of a company’s business and assets before it enters administration, which is completed immediately after administration.

New regulations deriving from the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 have extended the effective prohibition on statutory demands and winding up petitions until 31 December 2020. Tim Symes, a partner in our Insolvency and Commercial Litigation teams, looks at the implications of this for debtors and creditors.

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in a case concerning the Core VCT PLC companies (In Members Voluntary Liquidation) [2020] EWCA Civ 1207. The case concerns an order made to restore three dissolved companies after they went through a solvent liquidation process (ie no creditors still owed money), putting them back into solvent liquidation and appointing liquidators to investigate not only the affairs of the company but also the conduct of the ex-liquidators. The restoration application was made without notice to the ex-liquidators or members.

This week, the Third Circuit issued an opinion in NJDEP v. American Thermoplastics Corp et al., No. 18-2865, which adds a new wrinkle on CERCLA section 113(f)(2), which bars non-settling parties from bringing claims for contribution against settling parties, while also placing new emphasis on CERCLA section 104 cooperative agreements in the context of settlements.

Background

On 26 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (CIG Act) came into force which introduced fundamental changes to the UK’s company and insolvency laws which not only provide temporary assistance to companies and their directors during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, but on a permanent basis have significantly bolstered the UK’s restructuring tool kit. Amongst other matters, the CIG Act implements measures contained in the UK Government's consultation on Insolvency and Corporate Governance which concluded in August 2018.

A comparison of the new Dutch Scheme and the new UK Restructuring Plan.

Introduction

A comparison of the new Dutch Scheme and the new UK Restructuring Plan.

Introduction