On June 29, 2022, New York City-based Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Inc. (the “Club”), a non-profit aimed to save and enhance the lives of underserved boys and girls through after school programming and youth development services, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 22-10910).
On June 30, 2022, Plano, Texas-based mortgage lender First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. (“FGMC”), filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 22-10584). FGMC reports $500 million to $1 billion in both assets and liabilities.
A fundamental principle of insolvency law in the Cayman Islands is that upon the commencement of a liquidation of a company, a line is drawn in the sand and the assets of an insolvent company should be distributed on a pari passu basis (e.g. each unsecured creditor should share equally in the available assets of the company). While subject to some exceptions (like any good fundamental principle of law), the concept that all unsecured creditors should be on “equal footing” is the basis for a wide array of insolvency legislation and case law.
In the recent judgment In the Matter of GTI Holdings Limited delivered on 15 March 20221 , the Cayman Islands Grand Court reiterated the importance of principles of comity in cross-border insolvency matters and the central function of the place of incorporation.
A copy of the full judgment is available here.
Background
Conyers were instructed by Silver Base Group Holdings Limited (“Silver Base”) in relation to a successful application for the appointment of “light-touch” provisional liquidators for restructuring purposes before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands.
Introduction
In the recent judgment of In the Matter of Margara Shipping Limited (the “Margara Decision”)1 the Cayman Islands Grand Court provided some useful guidance on the basis on which a company can be restored to the Register of Companies (the “Register”) and subsequently wound up pursuant to section 159 of the Companies Act (2021 Revision) (the “Companies Act”) and the Grand Court Rules (2022 Consolidation) (“GCR”), Order 102, Rule 18.
The Legal Basis to Restore and Wind Up A Company
In the recent decision of Evergreen International Holdings Limited, delivered on 11 January 2022, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands made an order for the immediate winding up of a company notwithstanding the company’s cross-applications for an adjournment of the winding up petition and the appointment of “light-touch” provisional liquidators for restructuring purposes. The Court dismissed the company’s cross-applications on the basis that there was no credible evidence which supported the company’s assertion that a viable restructuring was imminent.
Stimwave Technologies Inc., a Pompano Beach, Fla.-based medical device manufacturer and provider of permanently implanted neurostimulation products for chronic pain, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 22-10541).
Shortly before midnight on June 15, 2022, cosmetic giant Revlon, Inc., along with several subsidiaries, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Lead Case No. 22-10760).
On June 1, 2022, Charlotte N.C.-based GT Real Estate Holdings, LLC, the company Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper created specifically for the Panthers new headquarters project in Rock Hill, S.C., filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware after the deal to develop the new facility collapsed (Case No. 22-10505).