In a world of free-ranging capital and cross-border transactions, the question of whether US courts will apply US law to transactions taking place in other countries is important. It is therefore a matter of both interest and concern that judges in the Southern District of New York have reached opposite conclusions when asked to give extraterritorial effect to the avoidance or 'clawback' provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.

Canon of statutory construction

In Leahy v Doyle & anor [2016] IEHC 177, the High Court issued orders of restriction in respect of directors of two companies (Gingersnap and Scappa), under Section 150 of the Companies Act 1990 (now Section 819 of the Companies Act 2014). While the companies were different, the liquidator and the directors were the same.

Background 

In McAteer & anor v McBrien & ors [2016] IEHC 229, the High Court made an order restricting three directors pursuant to Section 150 of the Companies Act 1990 (now Section 819 of the Companies Act 2014).  The first named respondent (A) was the husband of the second named respondent (B) and father of the third named respondent (C) and all were directors of the Company on the date of the liquidation.

Background

The High Court (Binchy J), has recently made restriction orders in respect of directors in two separate applications before it.

The US Court of Appeals recently decided in In re Tribune Co Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation(1) that Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code(2) impliedly pre-empts state fraudulent conveyance laws that creditors might otherwise use to unwind payments made by a corporate debtor to public shareholders in a pre-bankruptcy leveraged buy-out.

In Murphy -v- O'Flynn & anor [2016] IEHC 197 a liquidator sought an order from the Court restricting William and Deirdre O’Flynn from acting as directors pursuant to Section 150 of the Companies Act 1990.

Applicable Law 

On April 15, 2016, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Bankruptcy Court”) halted the attempt of plaintiffs who were injured in an accident involving a General Motors vehicle to seek recourse against General Motors LLC (“New GM”) in state court, finding that New GM did not assume liability for the plaintiffs’ claims.  This decision provides yet another reminder to t

Freeman V Bank of Scotland plc, Simon Davidson and Lloyd Daly & Associates Ltd [2016] IESC 14

This Supreme Court decision is as a result of an appeal from a judgment of McGovern J in the High Court which was delivered on 29^th May 2014.

Background

In Delaney v AIB [2016] IECA 5, Court of Appeal, Peart J, 28 January 2016 the Court of Appeal held that a bank had no duty of care to advise customers on the wisdom of a commercial transaction. 

Facts

In In re Caesars Entertainment Operating Co v BOKF, NA(1) the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviewed a bankruptcy court's denial of a trustee's motion for a temporary injunction staying litigation between non-debtors.

Facts