On 9 October 2012, a bill proposal was introduced to the Luxembourg Parliament providing for a right to claim back "intangible" and non-fungible movable assets from a bankrupt company.
According to the explanatory memorandum, the bill proposal is intended to allow the recovery of data from a bankrupt provider of distance IT services or cloud computing solutions. Once passed, the law will provide greater certainty as to the consequences of the bankruptcy of a cloud computing provider on the data in its possession.
"Separable" Assets
In a decision described as the first of its kind, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York ruled that claims based on soft dollar credits issued by Lehman Brothers Inc. (LBI) to numerous investment advisers were not entitled to the special protections afforded to “customer claims” under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA).
Acquirors of branded businesses often acquire prepaid, perpetual, exclusive trademark licenses to use the business’s trademarks.
The ongoing financial peril of Knight Capital provides an opportunity to reflect on steps investors should consider whenever a financial intermediary or counterparty encounters financial difficulties.
On July 9, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit significantly strengthened the potential ability of licensees to trademarks, international intellectual property, and other rights to continue to enjoy the benefits of their licenses despite a licensor’s bankruptcy.
On 13 June 2012 the Financial Institutions (Special Measures) Act (Wet bijzondere maatregelen financiële ondernemingen; "Intervention Act") entered into force with retro-active effect as of 20 January 2012). The Intervention Act includes new powers for the Netherlands Central Bank ("DNB") to procure that a bank or insurer which is experiencing serious financial problems is transferred, in whole or in part, to a third party.
On May 29, 2012, in RadLAX Gateway Hotel, LLC v. Amalgamated Bank, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that a debtor may not confirm a chapter 11 plan of reorganization providing for the “free and clear” sale of a secured creditor’s collateral, without permitting the secured creditor to credit bid at the sale.
(Originally published on September 29, 2011)
The Act of May 20 2011 implements EU Directive 2009/44/EC (amending the EU Settlement Finality Directive and the EU Collateral Directive), and amends the Collateral Act of August 5 2005. The Collateral Act has always been a lender-friendly implementation of the Collateral Directive. Most of its provisions have not changed and in general, the Collateral Act remains favourable to creditors in insolvency situations and other contexts.
Constitution and perfection of collateral arrangements