Russia has continually been working to improve the functioning of its judicial system and the administration of justice for more than two decades. The active reforms began with a decree by the Russian president creating the judiciary as a branch of the state, separate from the legislature and the executive, and these reforms have yet to be completed. In fact, we are now seeing a new level of reform, in which the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation will cease to exist and its powers will pass to the newly formed Supreme Court of Russia.

In recent years some high profile (and controversial) court decisions have swelled the list of liabilities that must be paid as expenses of an administration. Administration expenses enjoy "super priority", being payable out of floating charge realisations ahead of the claims of preferential creditors and floating charge holders. So, when an otherwise unsecured claim ranks as an administration expense, it clearly benefits the relevant creditor, but at the expense of the floating charge holder.

The UK Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have been drip-feeding the industry rules and practical details of the transfer of consumer credit (CC) regulation to FCA. FCA has now published the final form of its detailed rules in its Consumer Credit Sourcebook (CONC), with feedback and practical advice. The rules apply from 1 April 2014 with limited grace periods only. It is critical that all firms carrying on credit-related regulated activities know what the changes mean for them.

The case concerning the Game group of companies' administration has now been played out in the Court of Appeal and the eagerly anticipated judgment has been handed down.

The issue at stake concerned a landlord's ability to recover rent as an expense of administration (and therefore payable before other creditors) where such rent is payable in advance but where the tenant's administration occurs immediately before a quarter day's rent falling due.

When structuring a complex debt financing, financiers need to consider whether unsecured and structurally subordinated “mezzanine” debt ought to be replaced in the capital hierarchy with secured second lien credit. The relatively lower financing cost for second lien credit is based on the assumption that the second lien lenders might obtain some equity value from the liens on the residual collateral which would not otherwise be available with such “mezzanine” debt.

Ruling description

In its judgment of January 15, 2014, the Provincial Administrative Court (WSA) in Warsaw (case no. III SA/Wa 1928/13) ruled that a bankruptcy receiver was not required to correct input tax under the procedure set forth in Art. 89b (1) of the VAT Act (in the version which took effect on January 1, 2013) if the creditor cannot correct output tax under the “bad debt relief” procedure due to the debtor being bankrupt.

Introduction
'Frivolous or vexatious' test
'Strong prima facie case' test
Applying the same test for leave
Receiver's appointment and discharge orders
Comment

According to a recent report issued by the American Bankruptcy Institute, there was a 24 percent drop in business  bankruptcy filings in the United States last year, resulting in the fewest filings since 2006. The larger corporate  filings in 2013 were not the typical “mega” filings of years past. Unlike Lehman, Chrysler, Tribune, MF Global  and others, the chapter 11 “mega-cases” filed in 2013 were smaller and less well known in the general business  community. Among the more prominent were Cengage Learning, Excel Maritime, and Exide Technologies.

A New York bankruptcy court has ruled that certain victims of Bernard Madoff’s highly publicized Ponzi scheme are not entitled to adjust their claims to account for inflation or interest. Securities Investor Protection Corporation v. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, 496 B.R. 744 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2013). The Madoff Liquidation Trustee brought the motion asking the court to determine that Madoff customers’ “net equity” claims did not include “time-based damages” such as interest and inflation under the Securities Investor Protection Act (“SIPA”).

On March 12, 2009, Gerald Rote and Annalisa Rote  loaned $38,000 to their daughter and son-in-law to buy  a home. The Rotes took a mortgage on the home but, to  avoid the expense of publicly recording the mortgage,  they did not immediately record it. Rather, they waited  two years, until May 4, 2011, to record the mortgage.  Seven months later, however, the daughter and son-inlaw filed a bankruptcy petition.