A major consideration for any Claimant in an action seeking monetary damages is whether the Defendant to an action has the assets to meet a judgment, whether that be a claim against an individual or a limited company backed by the personal guarantee of an individual. That consideration should extend to a scenario where the Defendant has a judgment made against them and then either refuses to pay or cannot pay on time. The Claimant may have to seek their bankruptcy to achieve some payment.
Introduction:
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a provision of German law falls within the scope of Article 4 of the EC Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings, thereby paving the way for a German court to require a director of an English incorporated company to make payments under German law where the company has been placed into insolvency proceedings in Germany.
Introduction:
The Government has launched a new consultation on a number of technical and regulatory changes affecting pensions legislation. One of the proposed changes is to amend the entry rules in relation to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). The consultation follows on from the recent Supreme Court decision in Olympic Airlines and the introduction of specific legislation to ensure the beneficiaries of that particular scheme received protection in circumstances where the entry rules otherwise excluded them.
Summary
Introduction
We recently commented on a Scottish case involving dissolution, disclaimer and restoration (read our Law-Now here). There has now been an English case raising the same issues which on the face of it analyses the same provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (UK wide legislation) in a different way to achieve the same result.
The approach of the courts
Summary
On 14 October 2015, the Court of Appeal overturned a decision that two payments had been made in breach of a freezing order. The order prohibited the respondent to the freezing injunction application from dealing with or disposing of any of its assets other than in the ordinary and proper course of business. The Court held that the judge at first instance had taken too narrow a view in construing this exception and that, in light of the specific facts of the case, the freezing order had not been breached.
Synopsis:
CMS today publishes a White Paper examining whether there is a case for a special insolvency regime in the oil and gas industry.
On 7 September 2015 an act amending the Civil Procedure Code was published. The amendments include changes to proceedings on the enforcement of liabilities. The changes aim to speed up proceedings by computerisation, and at the same time clarify various issues that have arisen in the application of existing regulations.
Introduction:
Wide ranging changes to insolvency law will come into force on 1 October 2015 that will have repercussions for insolvency practitioners, directors and D&O insurers alike. One of the more significant - and controversial - changes allows office holders in insolvency proceedings to assign claims deriving from those proceedings to third parties. The implications of this are potentially far reaching and are discussed below.
New powers of assignment
The amendments to the Insolvency Act 1986 will extend the protection of essential supplies on insolvency to most private utility suppliers. They will also extend protection to I.T. supplies, including data storage and processing and website hosting. Further protection is introduced where contracts are entered into from 1 October 2015, so that insolvency related terms which allow higher supply charges in the event of administration or company voluntary arrangement will be prohibited.
Why is the law changing?