LITIGATION, ARBITRATION, INVESTIGATIONS AND FINANCIAL CRIME
QUARTERLY UPDATE
Welcome to the latest issue of our Quarterly Update, in which we look at some of the recent highlights and developments in banking and finance disputes and financial crime.
IN THIS ISSUE WE LOOK AT:
A salutary lesson: if you do not intend to be bound by a letter of commitment, say so clearly
GENERAL CORPORATE
In this issue, we focus on cases concerning directors’ considerations when making a solvency statement for a capital reduction, and whether “bad leaver” provisions containing compulsory share transfers are capable of being contractual penalties.
Statements of solvency on a reduction of capital: what must the directors consider?
The High Court has held in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA & others [2016] that payments of dividends were not made in breach of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”).
College students across the country have begun returning to campus for the start of the fall semester. This arrival heralds new opportunities, new friends and new classes. It also means new tuition payments. Given the soaring price of college tuition, many students will rely on their parents to assist them with the cost of attendance. This parental support may take many forms, from co-signing or guarantying undergraduate loans to directly funding tuition costs.
This is an extract from Financier Worldwide's August online publication entitled "Pension challenges in bankruptcy and restructuring processes."
REFLECTING ON THE LAST FEW YEARS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE OVERALL PENSION CHALLENGES ARISING FOR COMPANIES FACING BANKRUPTCY / INSOLVENCY AND RESTRUCTURING PROCESS? WHAT MAJOR TRENDS HAVE DEFINED THIS SPACE?
In today's low interest rate environment, the difference between a contractual interest rate and the federal judgment rate can be quite significant. It is not surprising, therefore, that this issue has become hotly litigated in cases involving solvent Chapter 11 debtors. Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in Colfin Bulls Funding A v. Paloian (In re Dvorkin Holdings), 547 B.R. 880 (N.D. Ill.
The acceptance of the Committee’s recommendation is a boost in Singapore’s bid to become a debt restructuring hub, and it is likely to be exciting to see how and when these recommendations will be implemented.
On 20 July 2016, Singapore’s Ministry of Law accepted the recommendations of the Committee to Strengthen Singapore as an International Centre for Debt Restructuring (the “Committee”).
BACKGROUND
Halcrow Group Limited (HGL) and Halcrow Water Services Limited (together Halcrow), two subsidiaries of Halcrow Holdings Limited (HHL), were the sponsoring employers with legal responsibility for funding the Halcrow Pension Scheme (HPS).
Puerto Rico is in the midst of a financial crisis. Over the past few years, its public debt skyrocketed while its government revenue sharply declined. In order to address its economic problems and to avoid mass public-worker layoffs and cuts in public services, the unincorporated U.S. territory issued billions of dollars in face value of municipal bonds. These bonds were readily saleable to investors in the United States due to their tax-exempt status and comparatively high yields.
On May 16, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its opinion in Husky International Electronics, Inc. v. Ritz, Case No. 15-145.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, (“the Court”) held in In re John Joseph Louis Johnson, III, Case No. 14-57104, 2016 WL 1719149, that a creditor violated the automatic stay by seeking to enforce an arbitration award against nondebtor co-defendants. The automatic stay applies not only to stay actions against the debtor personally but also prohibits “any act to … exercise control over property of the [debtor’s bankruptcy] estate.” 11 U.S.C.