PG&E Corporation has announced that it and its subsidiary, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), California’s largest electric utility, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California on or about Jan. 29, 2019. PG&E stated it will file bankruptcy in response to challenges relating to the catastrophic wildfires that occurred in Northern California in 2017 and 2018, which resulted in an estimated $30 billion in potential liability damages.
The Court of Appeal judgment in JSC BTA Bank v Mukhtar Ablyazov, Madiyar Ablyazov [2018] EWCA Civ 1176 confirms the correct approach when assessing the ‘prohibited purpose’ element of section 423 claims.
Summary
For anyone thinking of donating antiques or other valuable gifts to be part of a museum collection there is a moral to follow: beware how you give and to who you give it to! This was never better demonstrated than in the example of the Wedgwood collection and the case of the disappearing museum.
Tiuta International Ltd (In Liquidation) v De Villiers Surveyors Ltd [2017] UKSC 77
Overview
Carillion was perhaps best known for its public sector work. However, the insolvency of the UK’s second-largest construction company will inevitably have significant implications for the private sector.
Question
My client is buying a property from a receiver appointed under an equitable charge granted by a company which has become insolvent. The charge gives a receiver a power of sale and contains a power of attorney. Will the receiver be able to sign all the necessary documents to allow the transaction to proceed to completion?
Answer
(1) Timothy Crowden and (2) Carol Crowden v. QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited [2017] EWHC 2597 (Comm)
Summary
This case involved a claim in respect of negligent investment advice brought directly against the insurer of an insolvent financial adviser, pursuant to the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930 (the “1930 Act”).
The insurer successfully relied on an insolvency exclusion clause contained within the insolvent adviser’s professional indemnity policy in order to deny liability to the claimants.
Case Facts
Global Corporate Limited v Dirk Stefan Hale [2017] EWHC 2277 (Ch)
Summary
A recent judgment re-iterates the importance of carefully drafting a deed of assignment when assigning claims.
In Global Corporate, the liquidators of a company assigned certain claims by way of a deed of assignment to Global Corporate Limited (the “Assignee”). The Assignee (the Applicant in this case) then brought several claims against the company’s former director and shareholder.
Unfunded public union pension obligations have been making headlines for years, perhaps most notably with Detroit being forced into a contentious bankruptcy. Detroit, however, is hardly alone. Many states and municipalities have severely underfunded pension obligations crushing their balance sheets.
Re Diffraction Diamonds DMCC [2017] EWHC 1368 (Ch)
This case deals with the English Court’s jurisdiction to wind up foreign companies, on the grounds of public interest. While it does not create new law, it is a helpful review of the authorities, particularly Re Titan International Inc [1998] 1 BVLC 102 (“Titan”).
Case Facts