With the current financial difficulties faced by the oil & gas industry, directors of companies incorporated in England and Wales must be mindful of their duties and responsibilities to the company as well as the potential personal liability that could arise from breaching those duties and responsibilities in the context of an insolvency.

Who qualifies as a director?

The bankruptcy case of Energy Future Holdings (EFH) and its affiliates has already provided the Delaware bankruptcy court occasion to tackle a number of important bankruptcy questions, including the propriety of using tender offers to settle noteholder claims during the pendency of the case.

A recent Delaware District Court decision concerning an appeal of a bankruptcy settlement clearly provides support for the use of tender offers or other exchange, or settlement mechanics permitted under applicable federal securities laws prior to and outside a plan of reorganization. In essence, this decision permits debtors to utilize exchange offers to repurchase outstanding securities at a discount, or obtain more favorable terms during a bankruptcy proceeding and prior to confirmation of a plan of reorganization.

Case Summary

The Second Circuit in Krys v. Farnum Place (In re Fairfield Sentry Ltd.)¹ denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc by Appellee Farnum Place, LLC (Farnum), a hedge fund that sought to protect its purchase of a $230 million claim against the bankruptcy estate of Bernard L.

* This article was first published by INSOL International on March 16, 2015.

Upholds Extraterritorial Application of 11 U.S.C. § 362 Automatic Stay

Court of Appeal orders disclosure in relation to freezing order and cross-undertaking from a liquidator

The Supreme Court of the United States declined[1] to review the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Jaffé v.

A party with a statutory right to an admiralty claim in rem, which had issued its claim after the Admiralty court had ordered the sale of a vessel, did not lose its right to enforce the  claim¹. The claim in rem could be enforced against the sale proceeds provided that the person  liable in personam was the beneficial owner of the sale proceeds.

Facts

The Third Circuit Rules in Favor of the Bankruptcy Estate Creating a Further Circuit Split

Questions Standing of Indenture Trustees to Pursue Fraudulent Conveyance Claims