In April 2015, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal bought by The Trustees of the Olympic Airlines SA Pension and Life Assurance Scheme ("the Scheme") and held that Olympic Airlines SA ("Olympic Airlines") did not have an "establishment" in the UK when the Trustees presented a winding up petition in England on 20 July 2010.

The significance of the decision is that without a "qualifying insolvency event", the Scheme would not enter the Pension Protection Fund ("PPF") and is of significance for any defined benefit pension scheme of a UK branch office of an overseas company.

On 23 June 2015, the Italian Cabinet approved Law Decree No. 83 which amends Royal Decree No. 267 16 March 1942 (the “Bankruptcy Act”), the civil code and the code of civil procedure, and certain tax provisions (the “Decree”). The amendments aim to facilitate debt restructurings, support distressed companies in their turnaround attempts, and foster quicker liquidations in bankruptcy proceedings.

Interim Financing

Regulation (EU) 2015/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on insolvency proceedings (recast) (the “Regulation”) reforms the former European Regulation on Insolvency proceedings (EC) 1346/2000 (the “Original Regulation”). The aim of the Regulation, in particular, is to enhance the effective administration of cross-border insolvency proceedings, establishing a common framework for the benefit of all stakeholders.

The main features of the Regulation are:

The most recent decisions (by judges in Delaware and several other relevant jurisdictions) hold that fiduciary duties are owed to the corporation that the director and officer is serving and do not change whether the corporation is solvent, approaching insolvency (described as the “zone of insolvency”), or insolvent.

In addition to the general insolvency measures found in the Insolvency Act 1986, insurance intermediaries are subject to specific client money rules, which have a particular effect if they become insolvent. Though in the context of investment firms rather than the insurance sector, the recent UK Supreme Court case of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) v CRC Credit Fund and ors [2012] UKSC 6 (LBIE) is a useful decision against which to consider the application of many of these client money rules.

Given the nature of their businesses, shipping companies may be involved as respondents in arbitration proceedings in different jurisdictions. As arbitrations tend to be lengthy procedures, a claimant to such proceedings may want to explore whether there are any quicker routes they can take to recover their losses. One such option they might consider is bringing a winding up petition against the company.

Since at least the Delaware Supreme Court’s 2007 landmark decision in N. Am. Catholic Educ. Programming Found., Inc. v. Gheewalla, 930 A.2d 92, 101 (Del.

The slide and volatility in the oil price over the past few months has been dramatic and whilst many companies will be well positioned to weather the current climate, it has  already become clear that there are some players in the industry for whom insolvency is a very real  risk.

First publised in CRI

The unitranche financing market has expanded significantly in recent years. Generally, a unitranche deal involves two lenders (or groups of lenders) that provide financing on a “first out” and “last out” basis. In conjunction with the financing, the borrower grants one lien and enters into a single credit agreement and the lenders enter into an “Agreement Among Lenders” (“AAL”). An AAL is similar to an intercreditor agreement and provides for certain rights and remedies of the lenders.