2016 is turning out to be a year of significant reform of insurance law. The Insurance Act comes into force on 16 August 2016 and now we know that the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 will finally come into force on 1 August 2016, having been updated by the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Regulations 2016.

KEY POINTS

Bankroto įstatymo pakeitimai

Amendments to the Enterprise bankruptcy law

“Reasonably equivalent value” as a defense to a fraudulent transfer suit “can be satisfied with evidence that the transferee (1) fully performed under a lawful, arm’s-length contract for fair market value, (2) provided consideration that had objective value at the time of the transaction, and (3) made the exchange in the ordinary course of the transferee’s business,” held the Supreme Court of Texas on April 1, 2016, in response to a certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Janvey v. Golf Channel, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2016 WL 1268188, at *2 (Tex.

A corporation’s asset sale “was structured [by its insiders] so as to fraudulently transfer assets in order to avoid paying [a major creditor] what it was owed,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on March 22, 2016. Continental Casualty Co. v. Symons, 2016 WL 1118566, at *6 (7th Cir., March 22, 2016).

Creditors of a Chapter 11 debtor asserting “state law, constructive fraudulent [transfer] claims … are preempted by Bankruptcy Code Section 546(e),” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 29, 2016. In re Tribune Company Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation, 2016 WL ____, at *1 (2d Cir. March 29, 2016), as corrected.

This article contains a useful re-cap of the changes made to SIP 16 and the introduction of a pre-pack pool in November 2015. It also takes an early look at whether the pre-pack pool is working, citing some statistics on “take-up” since the pool’s inception and some examples of pre-packs to connected parties since the pool was introduced.

What is a “pre-pack”?

A Chapter 11 debtor’s pre-bankruptcy “surrender of [two] … leases to [its landlord] could be regarded as a preferential transfer,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on March 11, 2016. In re Great Lakes Quick Lube LP, 2016 WL 930298, at *2 (7th Cir. March 11, 2016).

Introduction

A referendum on whether the UK should leave or remain within the EU will take place on 23 June 2016. This briefing considers what the legal consequences of a vote to leave the EU (Brexit) might be for the UK restructuring and insolvency market. Its purpose is not to influence readers towards either the “Leave” or “Remain” camp; rather, it is intended to illustrate the legal changes that Brexit would cause and to consider how the UK might respond to those changes.