Au Québec, le droit de la consommation évolue régulièrement et la Loi sur la protection du consommateur (L.P.C.) continue de faire l’objet de plusieurs décisions des tribunaux chaque mois.
À l’occasion de la publication de ce nouveau bulletin de notre série en droit de la consommation, nous présentons les développements récents dans ce domaine sous l’angle des décisions des quelque 12 derniers mois de la Cour d’appel du Québec, qui apportent un éclairage sur des règles de la L.P.C.
The English High Court has sanctioned Smile Telecom Holding Limited's (Smile) restructuring plan, despite there being no parallel restructuring proceedings in Mauritius, the place of Smile's incorporation.
Background
Consumer law in Québec remains in constant evolution, and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) continues to be the subject of many court decisions each month.
In this new article in our series on consumer law, we present recent developments in this area from the perspective of Québec Court of Appeal decisions over the past 12 months, which shed some light on the rules of the CPA.
An increasing body of English case law has recognised cryptocurrencies as a form of property giving rise to the possibility of insolvency clawback claims involving cryptoassets.
Recent developments
On 18 January 2022, Hong Kong-listed cruise operator Genting Hong Kong Limited ('Genting HK') filed for provisional liquidation with the Supreme Court of Bermuda after it failed to secure access to liquidity. Genting HK has since gone into liquidation.
Background
The temporary restrictions on the winding up of companies were lifted on 31 March 2022. This means the legal regime governing insolvency has returned to its pre-pandemic approach.
The pre-31 March position
Objective
The new preventive restructuring procedure aims to deal with companies in financial difficulty before serious problems arise. The measures focus on preventing the insolvency of businesses to preserve their viability.
Main characteristics
Background
Under German insolvency law, employees are generally protected from claw-back claims. The payment of wages is considered a "cash transaction" if the employer pays the salary within three months of the work being performed. A “cash transaction” can only be contested in limited circumstances. Where a third party pays the salary, the cash transaction privilege remains if it is not clear to the employee that a third party made the payment (s.142(2) and s.3 InsO).
A recent German Federal Court of Justice ruling shows that this protection has limits.
The recent decision inErnst & Young Inc. v. Aquino, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) analyzed the criteria for establishing voidable transfers at undervalue under section 96 of theBankruptcy and Insolvency Act RSC 1985, c B-3 (BIA), with a particular focus on the application of “corporate attribution” in the context of insolvency.
On 16 September 2021, ordinance 2021-1193 implemented the European Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks into French law. The Ordinance applies to proceedings opened from 1 October 2021.
Key features