A bankruptcy court properly dismissed a creditor’s involuntary bankruptcy petition “for cause” when it “would serve none of the Bankruptcy Code’s goals or purposes . . . and [when] the sole [petitioning] creditor is not substantially prejudiced by remedies available under state law,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Aug. 14, 2018. In re Murray, 2018 WL 3848316, *7 (2d Cir. Aug. 14, 2018). In its view, the bankruptcy court “declined to serve as a ‘rented battle field’ or ‘collection agency’” for a single creditor. Id., at *7.

A purported conditional sale agreement “created a security interest rather than a lease,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Aug. 7, 2018. In re Pioneer Health Services Inc., 2018 WL 3747537, *3 (5th Cir. Aug. 7, 2018). Affirming the lower courts’ finding “that the relevant agreements were not ‘true leases,’” the court rejected a bank’s “motion to compel payment under [its] contract as an unexpired lease or an administrative expense.” Id., at *1. The economic substance, not the form of the transaction, was decisive.

In the framework of the reform of insolvency law that entered into force on 1 May 2018, the legislator has introduced important amendments regarding the liability of the directors in case of bankruptcy. These amended liability rules apply to directors of companies and not to physical persons who operate without a corporate structure.

1. Liability claim for apparent gross fault

Dans le cadre de la réforme du droit de l’insolvabilité qui est entrée en vigueur le 1er mai 2018, le législateur a opéré plusieurs modifications importantes concernant la responsabilité des administrateurs en cas de faillite. Les règles de responsabilité révisées valent pour les administrateurs de sociétés et non pour les personnes physiques qui bien qu’étant des entreprises, n’ont pas la structure d’une société.

1. Action en responsabilité pour faute grave et caractérisée

In het kader van de hervorming van het insolventierecht die op 1 mei 2018 van kracht is geworden, heeft de wetgever een aantal belangrijke wijzigingen doorgevoerd inzake de aansprakelijkheid van bestuurders bij een faillissement. De herziene aansprakelijkheidsregels gelden voor bestuurders van vennootschappen en niet voor natuurlijke personen die ondernemingen zijn maar geen vennootschapsstructuur hebben.

1. Aansprakelijkheidsvordering wegens kennelijk grove fout

The appellate courts are usually the last stop for parties in business bankruptcy cases. The courts issued at least three provocative, if not questionable, decisions in the past six months. Their decisions have not only created uncertainty, but will also generate further litigation over reorganization plan manipulation, arbitration of routine bankruptcy disputes and the treatment of trademark licenses in reorganization cases. Each decision apparently disposes of routine issues in business cases. A closer look at each case, though, reveals the sad truth: they are anything but routine.

A bankruptcy court properly denied a bank's motion to compel arbitration of a debtor's asserted violation of the court's discharge injunction, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held on March 7, 2018. In re Anderson, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 5703, 20 (2d Cir. Mar. 7, 2018). Finding a purported "inherent conflict between arbitration of [the debtor's] claim and the Bankruptcy Code," the Second Circuit reasoned that the bankruptcy court "properly considered the conflicting policies in accordance with law." Id., quoting In re United States Lines, Inc., 197 F.3d 631, 641 (2d Cir.

“ . . . [A] bankruptcy court may not designate claims for bad faith simply because (1) a creditor offers to purchase only a subset of available claims in order to block a [reorganization] plan . . . and/or

“Federal law does not prevent a bona fide shareholder from exercising its right to vote against a bankruptcy petition just because it is also an unsecured creditor,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on May 22, 2018. In re Franchise Services of North America Inc., 2018 WL 2325909, *1 (5th Cir. May 22, 2018). According to the court, applicable Delaware law would not “nullify the shareholder’s right to vote against the bankruptcy petition.” Id.

Relevance

La nouvelle loi sur l'insolvabilité est entrée en vigueur ce 1er mai 2018. La loi sur la continuité des entreprises (LCE), en tant que loi distincte, telle qu’elle existait jusqu’à récemment, a cessé d'exister et a été révisée et pleinement intégrée dans le livre XX CDE.