Introduction
Overview
The recent approval by the Irish High Court of a scheme of arrangement that restructured US$1.65bn of liabilities of Ballantyne Re plc (Ballantyne) confirms Dublin as one of the most effective restructuring venues in the EU. The detailed decision of Justice Barniville (available here) offers significant precedential value and is a clear endorsement that Irish schemes can be used to implement complex cross border restructurings. The Irish statute governing schemes is very similar to that of England and Wales.
Essence of the Ballantyne scheme:
Judgment was handed down in the High Court this morning, in a case where recognition of a winding-up of a solvent foreign investment fund was granted under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 ("CBIR").
This is the first time that the English Court has examined in detail the UNCITRAL Model Law on insolvency and the interplay with its Guides to Enactment, as well as case law from various jurisdictions concerning its application to solvent scenarios. Mrs Justice Falk found that:
Recent amendments to the UAE Civil Procedure Code (CPC) are aimed at modernising and enhancing the litigation process in the UAE Courts. This includes simplifying and expediting the process for a creditor to obtain an enforceable judgment on admitted debt claims as a "Payment Order". Clyde & Co reports here on this welcome development and a very recent success with such a claim under the new regime.
Civil procedure in the onshore UAE Courts has very recently been supplemented, and in certain key respects has been revised, by extensive Federal regulations signalling continued modernisation of the onshore legal process. These developments, effective from 16 February 2019, are of relevance to all businesses with a presence or commercial interests in the UAE, and are likely to be of particular positive interest to claimants.
Cash flow is the life blood of the construction industry, goes the mantra. Construction projects often have long supply chains. When cash stops flowing down the chain, businesses can fail. There is all too much recent evidence of this.
Someone in the chain (say, a main contractor) could seek to provide in a contract that it does not have to pay the party below (subcontractor) until it has been paid by the party above (employer). This is a 'pay-when-paid' clause.
Greatest focus will be on retail and outsourcing sectors.
Judge decides whether an insurance company proposing a scheme of arrangement should convene a single class meeting of creditors
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been conducting a review of the operation of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), seeking views as to how to reduce the number and value of claims falling to the FSCS and assessing how the scheme is funded, including the impact of professional indemnity insurance (PII).
A summary of recent developments in insurance, reinsurance and litigation law.
Engelhart CTP v Lloyd's Syndicate 1221: Court holds that all risks cargo policy did not cover fraudulent documents for a non-existent cargo