Although the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have, and continue to, put exceptional pressure on supply chains, the reality is that the insolvency of a business partner is a risk even in normal times. When that business partner is on the other side of pending arbitration proceedings, questions arise as to how the insolvency affects the substantive claim as well as the underlying procedure.
In a case that is sure to keep lawyers talking for months, the Supreme Court has decided the important case of Bresco Electrical Services Ltd (In Liquidation) v Michael J Lonsdale (Electrical) Ltd.
The case concerns the relationship between the statutory adjudication and insolvency set-off regimes.
The webinar looked at the widely debated issue of whether a company in liquidation can commence an adjudication by examining three recent cases on this topic.
Bresco v Michael J Lonsdale
The first being the Court of Appeal decision in Bresco Electrical Services Ltd (in liquidation) v Michael J Lonsdale (Electrical) Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 27, which has recently been heard in the Supreme Court but whose judgment is awaited.
Background
Hogan Lovells Publications | 15 June 2020
Navigating distress and insolvency in the oil and gas industry
Following the success of our three-part webinar series produced together with Houlihan Lokey in Spring 2020, we have developed reports summarizing how companies and investors can better navigate distress and insolvency in the oil and gas industry.
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill is currently being fast-tracked through Parliament, but is the Government making a mistake in seeking to combine a short-term breathing space for businesses during the current Covid-19 crisis with introducing the greatest changes we have seen to UK insolvency laws for decades?
RE: A COMPANY (INJUNCTION TO RESTRAIN PRESENTATION OF PETITION)
Die Corona-Krise zeigt bereits nach wenigen Monaten erhebliche Auswirkungen auf die finanzielle Lage vieler Unternehmen. Während sich die Bundesregierung bemüht, Hilfspakete auf den Weg zu bringen und Kurzarbeit zu fördern, sind die Folgen für viele Branchen vernichtend. Manche Unternehmen werden auf lange Sicht eine Insolvenz nicht abwenden können. Eine bevorstehende Insolvenz zeichnet sich oft dadurch ab, dass der Arbeitgeber nicht mehr in der Lage ist, seine Arbeitnehmer zu bezahlen.
Was passiert mit ausstehenden Löhnen?
Whilst the government has taken significant steps to help protect businesses from collapsing as a result of the current pandemic, it is evident that companies across the board are acutely aware that such protection cannot last forever.
Hogan Lovells Publications | 03 June 2020
A creditor's game plan in Chapter 11: Five things to consider
We now have further evidence of the court's willingness to act within the spirit of the Corporate Insolvency & Governance Bill ("CIG Bill").