La Cour du Banc de la Reine de l’Alberta (la « Cour ») a clarifié la façon dont seront traitées les demandes en cas d’abus dans le cadre de procédures en vertu de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies (la « LACC »). Dans sa décision récente concernant l’affaire Lightstream Resources Ltd.
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
The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (Court) has provided clarity on how oppression claims will be adjudicated in the context of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). In the recent decision in Lightstream Resources Ltd. (Re), the Court confirmed that it has jurisdiction to hear oppression claims, but held that the exercise of this discretion is limited to appropriate circumstances.
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
The insolvency of the CHC Group and over 40 directly or indirectly owned subsidiaries (collectively, CHC) will have a large impact on Canada given the size of CHC’s operations in the country. In general, the CHC insolvency could raise a range of core Cape Town Convention/Aircraft Protocol “CTC) issues should the applicable aircraft objects be subject to CTC international interests. In Canada, however, it is our understanding that the CTC is not applicable as the relevant aircraft in Canada were financed before the CTC came into force in Canada.
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.
The Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) has closed the door on the application of equitable subordination in Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceedings. In U.S. Steel Canada Inc.
La Cour d’appel de l’Ontario (la « CAO ») a fermé la porte à l’application du principe de la subordination reconnue en equity dans le contexte des procédures instituées en vertu de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies (la « LACC »). Dans l’affaire U.S. Steel Canada Inc.
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.