The Galapagos Group has secured comprehensive affirmation of its 2019 debt restructuring (the “Restructuring”) from the English High Court. This decision is a significant step towards resolution of the highly contested restructuring, and provides market participants with further clarity and certainty when it comes to implementing lender-led transactions in future.

Federal Bill C-228¹ (the Bill), new legislation intended to improve the protection of, and to extend the super-priority given to claims relating to, defined benefit pension plans in insolvency proceedings, completed third reading in the Senate on April 18, 2023 and is now awaiting Royal Assent before it becomes effective. The Bill is the result of a private members' bill, which was passed by the House of Commons in late 2022.

The Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan has rejected another attempt by a rural municipality to gain priority in an oil and gas receivership. This follows the recent Alberta Decision in Orphan Well Association v Trident Exploration Corp, 2022 ABKB 839, where the Alberta Court of King's Bench confirmed that the abandonment and reclamation obligations owed to the Orphan Well Association and the Alberta Energy Regulator rank in priority to claims of municipalities for unpaid property taxes in insolvency proceedings.

Since the beginning of the 21st century and the first big wave of security enforcements in Germany, who holds the entitlement to enforce a share pledge has caused countless disputes between pledgees and insolvency administrators. This issue has now been resolved by a recently released judgment of the German Federal Supreme Court of 27 Oct 2022 (case no.: IX ZR 145/21), which has now held that pledged shares as well as pledges over certain other non-movable rights such as trademarks or patents can be enforced by the pledgee (only) and not by the administrator.

Since the beginning of the 21st century and the first big wave of security enforcements in Germany, who holds the entitlement to enforce a share pledge between pledgees and insolvency administrators has caused countless disputes. This issue has now been resolved by a recently released judgment of the German Federal Supreme Court of 27 Oct 2022 (case no.: IX ZR 145/21), which has now held that pledged shares as well as pledges over certain other non-movable rights such as trademarks or patents can be enforced by the pledgee (only) and not by the administrator.

The Ontario Fraudulent Conveyances Act¹ (the FCA), a concise statute of long-standing that traces its history to an English statute of 1571, is intended to prevent conveyances of property made with the intent to defeat, hinder, delay or defraud “creditors or others” of their just and lawful actions, suits, debts, accounts, damages, penalties or forfeitures.

Introduction

The Alberta Court of King's Bench (the Court) has confirmed that the abandonment and reclamation obligations owed to the Orphan Well Association (OWA) and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) rank in priority to claims of municipalities for unpaid property taxes in insolvency proceedings.

Introduction

On November 10, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) issued its much-anticipated decision in Peace River Hydro Partners v Petrowest Corp, 2022 SCC 41, addressing a key intersection of insolvency and arbitration law—whether and in what circumstances a contractual agreement to arbitrate should give way to the public interest in the orderly and efficient resolution of a court-ordered receivership.