The Insolvency Rules 2016 ("IR 2016") are due to come into force in England and Wales on 6 April 2017. Its purpose is to modernise and streamline the insolvency process in England and Wales in order to reduce the costs and potentially increase returns to creditors. IR 2016 incorporates the changes to insolvency law and practice brought about by the Deregulation Act 2015 and the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.
This article highlights the principal areas of change and their practical implications.
Background
On 29 March 2017, Advocate General Mengozzi rendered his opinion to the EU Court of Justice in the landmark case regarding the Estro pre-packed bankruptcy.
Op 20 december 2016 is het wetsvoorstel versterking positie curator door de Tweede Kamer aangenomen. Ook dit wetsvoorstel maakt onderdeel uit van het overkoepelende Wetgevingsprogramma Herijking Faillissementsrecht.
Het wetsvoorstel Wet continuïteit ondernemingen I maakt onderdeel uit van het overkoepelende Wetgevingsprogramma Herijking Faillissementsrecht waarin wijzigingen van het faillissementsrecht worden voorbereid.
In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that both the debtor and any counterparty performing the legal act have knowledge of prejudice to creditors if, at the time of performing the legal act, the bankruptcy of the debtor and a shortfall in the bankruptcy estate is foreseeable. This judgment confirms the Supreme Court's decision of 22 December 2009 (ECLI:NL:HR:2009:BI8493).
The District Court of Oost-Brabant: At the time of collection, if a trustee in bankruptcy has collected enforcement proceeds from receivables pledged under an undisclosed right of pledge over receivables, the pledgee of the undisclosed right of pledge remains entitled to claim such proceeds from the trustee in bankruptcy, provided it has not collected the proceeds in its capacity as representative of the insolvent pledgor. The claim, however, only applies to proceeds which have been paid directly into the liquidation account.
Fomento De Construcciones Y Contratas SA v Black Diamond Offshore Ltd (Court of Appeal hearing)
The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal brought by a leading Spanish company ("FCC") against a first instance decision that an event of default had occurred in respect of a debt instrument.
Background
Recent cases we have been involved in have highlighted the need for Insolvency Practitioners to pay careful attention to the effect that block transfer orders have on administrations where the exit route is a creditors' voluntary liquidation ("CVL"). Failure to do so could risk the appointment of liquidators being invalid.
The statutory requirements
Campbell v Peter Gordon Joiners Ltd (in liquidation) and another (2016) UKSC 38 considered whether an employee could successfully bring a civil action against a director of a company in liquidation for having failed to obtain appropriate employers' liability insurance.
C was an apprentice joiner employed by a company who suffered an injury at work whilst working with an electric saw. The company held employers’ liability insurance but it did not respond to C's claim as the policy excluded claims arising from the use of “woodworking machinery” powered by electricity.
When the board of Hanjin Shipping voted unanimously to file for receivership at the end of August, it precipitated the largest container line bankruptcy in history. The collapse of the company is partly due to the pressure on the shipping industry, which has been unrelenting since the 2008 financial crash. Much of this has to do with the increase in capacity in the industry – vessels built in the 1990s typically carried around 2,000 TEUs; by 2015 this had increased to 10,000.