Toone v Robbins 2018 [EWHC] 569 (Ch)
The lessons to takeaway
Directors who are also shareholders need to be careful when arranging how to take payments from a company. For tax reasons, dividends can be perceived to be an attractive way to take cash out of a company, but if there are insufficient distributable reserves, such payments are unlawful and can be clawed back.
Following the opening of insolvency proceedings, the insolvency receiver typically tries to enlarge the insolvency estate by asserting voidance claims. Legal acts that occurred within certain suspect periods prior to the opening of insolvency proceedings might be declared void. Creditors may mitigate certain avoidance risks by investigating the debtor's financial situation when conducting legal transactions.
Responsibility to investigate
Following recent media reports, with effect from Monday 15 January 2018 the Official Receiver has been appointed liquidator of a number of Carillion Group companies (Carillion Plc, Carillion Construction Limited, Carillion Services Limited, Planned Maintenance Engineering Limited, Carillion Integrated Services Limited and Carillion Services 2006 Limited). The Official Receiver will be supported by a number of Special Managers from PwC.
schönherr journal www.schoenherr.eu 02/2017 S cílem harmonizovat a posílit ochranu proti odcizení obchodního tajemství na úrovni EU byla minulý rok přijata Směrnice Evropského parlamentu a Rady (EU) 2016/943 ze dne 8. června 2016 o ochraně nezveřejněného know-how a obchodních informací (obchodního tajemství) před jejich neoprávněným získáním, využitím a zpřístupněním (dále jen „Směrnice“). V návaznosti na zavádění Směrnice do českého právního řádu dozná určitých změn dosud platná právní ochrana obchodního tajemství.
The High Court gives an insolvency exclusion a wide scope and declines to apply narrow interpretation rules for exclusions in insurance contracts in Crowden and another -v- QBE Insurance (Europe) Ltd [2017] EWHC 2597 (Comm).
Reasoning behind the changes
In the two years that the "new" bankruptcy regime – the Bankruptcy Act of September 2015 (Stečajni zakon; the "BA") – has been in place, the number of pre-bankruptcy procedures initiated in Croatia has plummeted to only 273, with 58 restructuring plans being accepted. By comparison, under the previous pre-bankruptcy regime from 2012 to 2015, 8,262 pre-bankruptcy procedures were initiated, with 2,224 restructuring plans being reached.
A fundamental consideration when embarking on any litigation is whether the defendant will be able to pay. In most cases, this is really a question of whether the defendant is insured (although in some cases a defendant may be uninsured and yet still have the means to pay).
What happens if the defendant is insolvent?
On 1 October 2017, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (Protocol) will come into force. It will apply to all debt claims where:
- the creditor is a business (including sole traders and public bodies)
- the debtor is an individual (including sole traders), and
- no other specialised Protocol applies.
Why is this new Protocol being introduced?
The express purpose of the new Protocol is to:
The amendment to the Hungarian Insolvency Act came into force on 1 July 2017, with the aim of enhancing the protection of beneficiaries of security interests, and clarifying the position of creditors in liquidation proceedings, which are secured by call option, security assignment or pledge over future receivables.
Breyer Group Plc v RBK Engineering Ltd
The High Court's recent judgment in Breyer Group Plc v RBK Engineering Limited [2017] EWHC 1206 provides a timely reminder for parties to construction contracts of the appropriate (and inappropriate) uses of winding-up petitions.
The case concerned a successful application made by Breyer Group PLC (Breyer) for an order preventing RBK Engineering Limited (RBK) from continuing with a petition to wind up Breyer on the basis of a disputed debt.
How did the dispute arise?
In summary: