Background
The Times revealed in an article last month that, according to a report from the Audit Reform Lab, a think tank at the University of Sheffield, only a quarter of the 250 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange to become insolvent between 2010 and 2022 had a “going concern” warning included by their auditors in what would turn out to be their final set of accounts. Of those companies 38 also declared a dividend in those accounts.
In its recent opinion in Raymond James & Associates Inc. v. Jalbert (In re German Pellets Louisiana LLC), 23-30040, 2024 WL 339101 (5th Cir. Jan. 30, 2024), the Fifth Circuit held that a confirmed bankruptcy plan enjoined a party from asserting certain indemnification counterclaims against a plan trustee because the party did not file a proof of claim.
Background
Whether a solar system is a “fixture” sounds like a mundane legal issue – but it has significant implications for the residential solar industry and for the financing of residential solar systems. If a system is regarded as a “fixture” of the house to which it is attached, then the enforceability and priority of the finance company’s lien on the system will be subject to applicable real estate law.
Since the implementation of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (the IRDA), liquidators and judicial managers in Singapore have been statutorily authorised to use third-party funding for a range of claw-back actions. They are also able to transfer company assets to funders; to assign the fruits of legal actions to funders; and to grant super-priority to funders.
Is a court order necessary for security interests granted after the appointment of external administrators? Perhaps not.
If your company is named in a new lawsuit or receives a EEOC charge, part of your review process should include checking to see if the filing complainant or plaintiff has a pending bankruptcy action. If so, the next step is to see if the claimant disclosed their lawsuit or administrative complaint in his or her bankruptcy petition. If not, you may have a successful estoppel argument.
For at least the past decade, federal bankruptcy courts have routinely prohibited cannabis businesses from seeking protection under federal bankruptcy law, regardless of whether a cannabis business is legally operating under state law.
The Director of the Justice Department’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP), which oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases, is about to change for the first time in nearly 20 years. Clifford White will be stepping down from the role and consumer advocate Tara Twomey will be taking up the mantle.
These are unprecedented times for businesses trying to manage the challenging impact of inflation, labour shortages, supply interruptions, elections, fires, floods, wars and a pandemic. It is more important than ever to manage working capital, mitigate risk and monetise assets.