The ECJ has issued a preliminary ruling on the use of Article 13 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings ("the Regulations") as a defence to clawback claims by an insolvency office holder.
In this case Sportland, a Finnish company, sold goods supplied by Nike European Operations Netherlands BV ("Nike"), a Dutch company, under a franchise contract governed by Dutch law. Sportland owed Nike approximately €200,000 and repaid their debts in ten instalments very shortly before insolvency proceedings were opened in Finland.
In our June seminars we discussed the Pre-Pack Pool and the proposed changes to SIP 16. The revision was recommended by Teresa Graham as part of her independent review into pre-packs in June 2014, and the new SIP 16 was introduced on 2 November 2015 to coincide with the launch of the Pre-Pack Pool.
Key provisions of the revised SIP 16, which remains virtually unchanged from the draft issued in January this year, include: