Last week, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Bullock v. BankChampaign, N.A., which addressed the circumstances in which a breach of fiduciary duty judgment can be discharged in bankruptcy proceedings.

The general rule is that an IRA is exempt from the claims of creditors. Indeed, the Federal Bankruptcy Code provides in Sections 522(b)(3)(C) and 522(d)(12) that a retirement plan, including an IRA and a Roth IRA, is an exempt asset in bankruptcy. However in Green v. Pershing L.L.C., N.D. Okla., No. 4:12-cv-00296-CVE-FHM, 10/22/12, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma ruled that the plan sponsor was not liable for turning over Mr. Green’s entire IRA to the IRS in response to the Notice of Levy and demand the IRS served on Pershing L.L.C. (“Pershing”).

The Minister for Justice and Equality has brought more provisions of the Insolvency Act 2012 (the Act) into force and has designated 1 March 2013 as the establishment day of the Insolvency Service of Ireland.

Under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2013, the following provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 March 2013:

This Act provides for the winding up of IBRC, the appointment of a Special Liquidator and other connected matters. This legislation was signed into law by the President on 7 February 2013.

The Minister for Justice and Equality has made an order which sets the 18th day of January, 2013, as the date on which Part 6 (Specialist Judges of the Circuit Court) of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 comes into operation.

Over recent years in this economic climate, it has been increasingly common for distressed companies to be sold in an effort to rescue the entity. On first blush, this seems a relatively simple exercise although care is required to ensure that no unexpected tax charges arise, especially if there is restructuring of the debt. The taxation rules governing the end of business life are varied and complex and the sooner that thought is given to taxation in respect of the insolvent company the better this will be for the seller, the remaining group and for any buyer.

On the 12 December, the European Commission announced the proposal to update Council Regulation 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings. They also announce a separate initiative whereby it will be highlighting the differences between national laws that have the greatest potential to hamper an efficient insolvency legal framework across the EU.

This Q&A focuses on the need to modernise the EU Insolvency Regulation to facilitate the restructuring of businesses in financial difficulty.

Questions include: why do the current rules need updating, what is the impact of the insolvency rules on the economy, how many businesses are affected and what are the next steps?

On 26 December last, the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 was signed into law by the President.

The various provisions of the Act will come into force through commencement orders which will be made by the Minister for Justice. It is expected that certain sections of the Act relating to its Establishment Day and related provisions, will be commenced shortly.

The remaining provisions will then come into operation on a phased basis under Section 1(2) of the Act, as designated by orders to be made by the Minister.

Despite having more than its fair share of failed banks, Florida has not been a hotbed of D&O litigation. On November 9th, the FDIC filed only its second lawsuit against former directors of a failed banking institution. The defendants here are former directors of Century Bank, FSB (Sarasota, FL), which was placed into receivership in mid-November 2009.  A copy of the FDIC’s complaint is available here.