Secured creditors have taken note and expressed concern regarding a recent decision from the Federal Court of Appeal (the “FCA”), which has upended conventional wisdom regarding the priority and treatment of GST/HST arrears in a bankruptcy. In Canada v.

In a September 19, 2017 decision from the bench in the matter of Bank of Montreal v. Kappeler Masonry Corporation, et. al.1 (“Kappeler Masonry”), Madam Justice Conway of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the “Court”) confirmed that commingling of construction project receipts in a receiver’s estate account is fatal to a Construction Lien Act (Ontario) (the “CLA”) trust claim in the face of a debtor’s bankruptcy.

In what may prove either to be a landmark decision or a mere outliner confined to its unique facts, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (the "Court of Appeal") in Romspen Investment Corporation v. Courtice Auto Wreckers Limited, et al.1 has overturned an earlier decision and lifted the stay of proceedings against a court-appointed receiver to allow a union to proceed with a certification application and an unfair labour practice complaint against the receiver.

De Afdeling bestuursrechtspraak van de Raad van State heeft in een uitspraak van 25 januari 2017 (zaaknr. 201508332/1/A3) nogmaals bevestigd dat de bereidheid van een bestuursorgaan om te wachten met invordering van verbeurde dwangsommen totdat op een tegen de last onder dwangsom aanhangig gemaakt beroep is beslist door de rechter, haar duur kan komen te staan. In deze zaak verloor het college van burgemeester en wethouders van Eindhoven (het college) de bevoegdheid om EUR 26.500,00 aan verbeurde dwangsommen in te vorderen.

Hoge Raad 24 juni 2016, ECLI:HR:NL:2016:1311

Eiseres is in cassatie gegaan tegen een arrest van het hof Den Bosch van 28 juli 2015. Eiseres heeft de cassatiedagvaarding laten betekenen ten kantore van verweerder's (eerdere) advocaat. De cassatiedagvaarding is enkel aan verweerder uitgebracht.

On 5 February 2016 the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that the fact that a trustee in bankruptcy unlawfully collected pledged receivables has no consequences for the ranking of his salary. That the trustee in this case would profit from his unlawful behaviour (his salary is the highest ranking claim in a bankruptcy) is undesirable, but not enough reason to change the ranking.

In its 18 December 2015 ABN/Marell judgement, the Dutch Supreme Court held that if secured debt is pledged, the holder of that right of pledge has the authority to enforce not only its own pledge but also the security connected with that pledged secured debt. Such chains of secured debt are not uncommon, but often parties are not aware that they exist. According to this new case law, security down the chain can be used in the enforcement of the primary security.

Secured creditors should take note of Callidus,¹ wherein the Federal Court (the “Court”) held that the bankruptcy of a tax debtor rendered a statutory deemed trust under section 222 of the Excise Tax Act (the “ETA”) ineffective as against a secured creditor who, prior to the bankruptcy, received proceeds from the tax debtor’s assets.

Background

In Aventura², a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the “Court”), the Honourable Justice Penny confirmed that a bankruptcy trustee does not have the authority, pursuant to section 30(1)(k) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the “BIA”), to disclaim a lease on behalf of a bankrupt landlord. Rather, a trustee’s authority to disclaim a lease is limited to situations where the bankrupt is the tenant.

De Hoge Raad heeft twee uitspraken gedaan over de houdbaarheid van het overwaarde-arrangement in faillissement. In het kort stelt de Hoge Raad vast dat in geval van faillissement van de kredietnemer, de financiers gebruik kunnen maken van het overwaarde-arrangement, mits de kredietnemer partij is bij het arrangement.

Overwaarde-arrangement