Following the UK Supreme Court decision in Sequana¹ at the end of 2022, the New Zealand Supreme Court has now weighed in on the issue of the duties owed by directors of a company in the zone of insolvency in a long-running case involving the liquidation estate of Mainzeal Property and Construction Limited.²

The Cayman Islands Grand Court recently delivered its judgment in Re Shinsun Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd. FSD 192 of 2022 (DDJ) (21 April 2023) (unreported) (the “Shinsun Judgment”) in which the court determined the ultimate beneficial owner of bonds, held through Euroclear, did not have standing or authority to progress a winding up petition as a contingent creditor. In this article, we explore similar cases in other offshore and common law jurisdictions.

Shinsun Judgment and the Cayman Position

根据英国最高法院 2022 年底 Sequana¹ 的判决 ，新西兰最高法院在涉及 Mainzeal Property and Construction Limited²清算财产的长期案件中，对破产区公司董事所承担的义务问题进行了权衡及作出有力贡献。

当世界各地的董事们正努力应对各种宏观经济因素带来的困难和不确定时期时，这些决策为董事们应采取哪些保护自己及公司的方法提供了有用且及时的指导。

这可能意味着听取有关停止交易的建议，尝试签订重组支持协议或任命官员提供协助。在开曼群岛，新的重组支持官员制度提供了一个有用的体系，为董事提供休整期，以便在适当的情况下促进和实施可行的计划。

Mainzeal 的最新决定再次提醒大家，公司董事未能采纳建议和采取适当行动可能会导致严重后果。

Mainzeal 决定

1.1 The overriding objective

(1) The overriding objective of these rules is to enable the court to deal with cases justly.

(2) Dealing justly with the case includes –

(a) ensuring, so far as is practicable, that the parties are on an equal footing;

(b) saving expense;

(c) dealing with cases in ways which are proportionate to the –

(i) amount of money involved;

(ii) importance of the case;

(iii) complexity of the issues; and (iv) financial position of each party;

(d) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously; and

In Convoy Supply Ltd. v.

On 8 March 2023, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators (“JPLs”) over Atom Holdings (the “Company”), a Cayman incorporated holding company for the Atom Group, which operated a cryptocurrency exchange via an online platform known as AAX (Atom Asset Exchange).

By means of a category two Public Trustee v Cooper application, in which Jeffrey Elkinson and Britt Smith of Conyers, led by Brian Green KC, acted for the successful plaintiffs, the first plaintiff as trustee, and the second plaintiff as protector, of three family trusts¹ sought to give effect to a 2018 settlement agreement reached between all of the adult beneficiaries concerning the collective assets in the trusts.

These continue to be challenging times and we recognize that the need for cross-border advice on insolvency and restructuring matters may be required at short notice. Conyers’ attorneys are insolvency and restructuring experts. We are well-equipped to advise at all stages where financial stability becomes an issue and innovative solutions are required.

The Complications Involved with Cross-Border Restructuring

On 21 April 2023, the English High Court handed down its written reasons for sanctioning the Adler Group restructuring plan proposed under the new Part 26A regime of the UK’s Companies Act 2006, which raised questions regarding the jurisdiction of the Court, cross-class cram downs, pari passu issues and competing valuations.

La 13^e édition annuelle de la publication Mining in the Courts fournit une mise à jour complète sur les développements juridiques concernant le secteur minier (disponible en anglais seulement). Cette publication comprend un résumé sur bon nombre des causes les plus importantes, ainsi que des articles offrant un aperçu sur les tendances juridiques actuelles et les défis auxquels l’industrie devra faire face au cours de la prochaine année.

Voici certains des sujets qui y sont abordés :