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Following the Coronavirus pandemic, the Scottish Government introduced two key Acts. The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 and the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No.2) Act 2020 - together, these Acts made two significant changes to personal insolvency in Scotland.

The 2020 Coronavirus (Scotland) Acts

Thorn (liquidator), in the matter of South Townsville Developments Pty Ltd (in liq) (Company) involved an ex parte application by a liquidator seeking approval under section 477(2B) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) to enter into agreements to fund existing litigation and a request for the suppression and non-publication of certain details in those agreements.

Background

In a recent case involving key stakeholders in the ‘Century Mine’ (Mine) – located in the lower Gulf of Carpentaria region in Northwest Queensland – the Supreme Court of Queensland considered an application brought by a liquidator and creditor for the termination of a winding up of pursuant to section 482(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Application).

Background

The Mine was operated by Century Mining Ltd (formerly Century Zinc Ltd) (Century). It was one of the largest zinc mines in the world.

Mr Badcock (the Respondent) was an undischarged bankrupt, and Mr Ambrose (the Applicant) was the trustee of his bankruptcy. The key issue for determination was the definition of property under the Bankruptcy Act, and whether the moving of monies into an interesting-bearing account by the Respondent was sufficient to change the character of income to after-acquired property which would vest in the Trustee’s Estate.

Litigation funding can play an important role in allowing liquidators to recover debts on behalf of liquidated companies, where there may be a real prospect of success in recovery proceedings but where obstacles such as funding or security for costs may present themselves.

The results of KPMG's Fraud Barometer showed a significant increase in fraud cases in 2021, confirming the general upward trend in this area. My colleagues recently prepared an update on the case of Hewlett Packard v Lynch, described as one of the most expensive and high profile fraud trials in recent history.

Often, clients contact us about debts due to them, with the expectation that a lengthy and expensive court action will have to take place before they have a chance of recovering those funds. However, in the right circumstances, there may be another option available.

Summary diligence is a peculiarity of the Scottish legal system. The term "summary diligence" is used to refer to enforcement of certain legal rights based on a document (for example, a lease) rather than a court decree. It can be a useful tool for creditors to avoid the courtroom.

It has taken over 20 months, but we now have a reported decision from the High Court in England on the operation of the new moratorium provisions introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020. Sir Alastair Norris, sitting as a High Court judge, has rejected a creditor's attempt to bring a moratorium to an end following a monitors' decision not to terminate the moratorium.

The changes to the director disqualification regime brought by the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021 (the "Act") come into effect on 15 February 2022. We discuss the extension of disqualification proceedings and the impact on directors here.

The Changes