Recent court service suspensions announced in the UAE – albeit temporary – as part of the government's response to COVID-19 will undoubtedly have an impact on efficacy of debt recovery options available to creditors, at least in the near short term. These measures come at a time when payment default rates are only expected to increase rapidly and creditors will be looking at what actions they can and should take to protect their position, including short and medium term strategies.

Introduction:

The Australian Federal Government announced temporary amendments, effective 24 March 2020, to insolvency and corporations law in response to the challenges that businesses are facing as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. These amendments provide a safety net to businesses in challenging times to foster survival for those businesses once the crisis has passed.

In the light of immense pressure on the liquidity of many companies and obligations to file for insolvency in case of illiquidity or overindebtedness, the Germany government will suspend this obligation until 30 September 2020. The suspension will apply if the insolvency is caused by the coronavirus pandemic and if there are sufficient prospects that the company can be turned around.

The case of Hunt (as Liquidator of System Building Services Group Ltd) v Michie & Ors [2020] EWHC 54 (Ch) examines whether directors’ duties continue after the company has become insolvent and confirms that they do, bringing welcome clarity to the point. As such, Insurers will need to review their policies to make clear if they wish to cover this risk.

Prelude

India and the United Arab Emirates (‘UAE’) have witnessed dynamic bilateral relations in the recent past. Leadership of both countries have endeavoured to bolster ties of the two economies which has aligned India to achieve its insatiable ambition of emerging as a USD 5 trillion economy.

Das Oberlandesgericht München hat in einem bisher unveröffentlichten Hinweisbeschluss^[1] die Rechtsauffassung des Oberlandesgerichts Celle^[2] und des Oberlandesgerichts Düsseldorfs^[3] bestätigt, dass für Ansprüche des Insolvenzverwalters gegen Geschäftsführer wegen Zahlungen trotz Insolvenzreife kein Versicherungsschutz unter einer D&O-Versicherung besteht. Daneben hat das Oberlandesgericht München auch zur Verteilung der Darlegungs- und Beweislast in Abtretungskonstellationen Stellung bezogen.

Saam Golshani and Alexis Hojabr, White & Case LLP

This is an extract from the first edition of GRR's The Art of the Pre-Pack. The whole publication is available here.

Christopher Harlowe and Christopher Levers, Mourant

This is an extract from the first edition of GRR's The Art of the Pre-Pack. The whole publication is available here.

The Cayman Islands has established itself as the jurisdiction of choice for financially sophisticated businesses such as hedge funds, private equity funds, special purpose vehicles and trusts that use offshore vehicles.

David Baxter and Brian O’Malley, A&L Goodbody

This is an extract from the first edition of GRR's The Art of the Pre-Pack. The whole publication is available here.

Introduction

Pre-packs in Ireland probably are not as common as they should be. In theory, a pre-pack is broadly available in each of our insolvency procedures: liquidation, examinership and receivership.

Dominic Emmett and Hannah Cooper, Gilbert + Tobin

This is an extract from the first edition of GRR's The Art of the Pre-Pack. The whole publication is available here.