The Kaboko judgment brings comfort to directors who hold D&O insurance policies, or those seeking to bring proceedings against directors of an insolvent company, provided the claim is not based in whole or in part on the company's insolvency.

The Revel decision provides a cautionary tale for purchasers under Section 363.

30 January 2019 marks the seventh anniversary of when the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) started to apply and, as registrations against serial numbers and/or consumer property can only have a duration of 7 years, that means those types of registrations (if made in 2012) will expire automatically this year unless they are renewed.

If you have made registrations on the PPS register that are for a period of 7 years (or less):

Get your 5 Minute Fix of major projects and construction news. This issue: significant security of payment reform on the agenda in WA, review of the BCIIP Act tabled, Infrastructure Victoria's report on the investment required to support automated and zero emissions vehicles, more on cladding and the High Court grants special leave to consider the availability of a quantum meruit claim as an alternative to contract damages upon repudiation of a building contract.

Review of security of payment reform for WA subcontractors released

Last Thursday's decision in the WA Supreme Court to allow a sale to insiders of a company subject to a deed of company arrangement will make the restructuring process smoother for administrators, who can now negotiate with a wider pool of potential purchasers, as Chapter 2E of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), which deals with related party transactions, will not apply (Mighty River International v Bryan Hughes and Daniel Bredenkamp as Deed Administrators of Mesa Minerals Ltd (Subject to Deed of Company Arrangement) [No 2] [2018] WASC 368; Clayton Utz acted for the deed administrators of Mes

In re Altadena Lincoln Crossing LLC, 2018 Westlaw 3244502 (Bankr. C.D. Cal.), a California bankruptcy court held that a default interest rate provision was an unenforceable penalty under applicable California law because, among other things, the applicable loan agreements did not contain an estimate of the probable costs to the lender resulting from the debtor’s default.

Background

In a matter of first impression, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York recently analyzed whether a debtor may exempt from her bankruptcy estate a retirement account that was bequeathed to her upon the death of her parent. In In re Todd, 585 B.R. 297 (Bankr. N.D.N.Y 2018), the court addressed an objection to a debtor’s claim of exemption in an inherited retirement account, and held that the property was not exempt under New York and federal law.

Get your 5 Minute Fix of major projects and construction news. This issue: discover the latest cladding developments; resources construction work now caught by WA training levy; mind the gap: public transport at the urban fringe; avoid slip-ups in your payment schedule; and the availability of insolvency processes under the Corporations Act 2001 for recovering SOP debts.

Cladding update ‒ NSW

Liquidators have more certainty about their ability to disclaim the environmental liabilities and responsibilities of a company in liquidation.

In Kaye v. Blue Bell Creameries (In re BFW Liquidation), 899 F.3d 1178 (11th Cir. 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit found that a liability for an allegedly preferential transfer may be reduced by the amount of new value given, regardless of whether that new value has already been repaid by the debtor before its bankruptcy filing.