The Court of Appeal has helpfully confirmed that a judgment creditor can seek an order appointing a receiver by way of equitable execution where:

• the debtor holds a legal or equitable interest in property; and
• execution against the property is not available at law by one of the usual methods, for instance via the sheriff or by a garnishee order.

There was previously doubt as to whether such a receiver could be appointed where the debtor held a legal, as opposed to an equitable interest, in property.

After ten years of operation the European Insolvency Regulation (Regulation (EC) No. 1346/2000) has been extensively reviewed by the European Commission, European Parliament and Council. On 20 May 2015, the European Parliament approved the result of that review: the recast Insolvency Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 2015/848) (the “Regulation”), which applies to insolvency proceedings commencing from 26 June 2017.

In positive news for financiers and lenders, the Irish Government has signed an order which gives immediate effect to the “Alternative A” insolvency provisions of the Cape Town Convention.

The High Court has recently expressed concern that distressed borrowers are being duped into paying money to the anonymous promoters of schemes, which purport to protect them from enforcement by lenders but are actually ‘utterly misguided and spurious’.

There are a number of schemes being promoted at the moment that supposedly protect borrowers in arrears from enforcement by their lender.

Two recent developments may have rendered the Irish legal system less attractive to creditors. We examine the scope of these developments and the likely impact on debt collection activity in Ireland.

Rate of interest of judgment debts falls by 6%

The rate of interest on judgment debts has been reduced from 8% to 2%, with effect from 1 January 2017, in accordance with the Courts Act 1981 (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 2016 (S.I. No 624 of 2016) (the “Order”).

Gift vouchers are often considered an easy and convenient option when purchasing gifts for friends and family. For the relative with unusual taste, the friend who lives in another part of the UK or the husband and wife to be who already have everything, a gift voucher may appear to be the ideal gift. But what happens if, before the recipient has the opportunity to redeem the voucher, the relevant retailer becomes insolvent?

In terms of current insolvency law consumers are ordinary creditors who rank at the bottom of the statutory hierarchy of creditors.

We examine the scope of the Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 and look at the potential impact on defined benefit pension schemes in Ireland, if enacted.

The Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force yesterday, 30 November 2016, together with other consequential amendments and changes to the Court Rules which relate to bankruptcy in Scotland.

Until recently, Irish creditors could reasonably assume that money judgments awarded in Ireland could be enforced within all other EU member states, including the UK[1]. This gave Irish creditors comfort that they could swiftly and cost-effectively pursue UK-situate assets of a judgment debtor, after a judgement was obtained in Ireland.

Simple retention of title clauses are commonplace and generally effective in contracts for the sale of goods. However, extending their effect to the proceeds of sale of such goods requires careful drafting.

The Court of Appeal has provided some further clarity around the creation and effects of fiduciary obligations in relation to such clauses.[1]

Proceeds of sale clauses