Introduction

The recent decision of Andrew Burrows QC, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, in Palliser Limited v Fate Limited (In Liquidation) [2019] EWHC 43 (QB), is a useful reminder of the difficulties that can arise where one party (here a tenant) relies on another (its landlord) to take out insurance.

The Facts

In 2010, a fire started at the ground floor restaurant owned and operated by a company called Fate Limited (“Fate”). It was not in dispute that the fire was caused by Fate’s negligence.

Re SHB Realisation Ltd (formerly BHS Ltd); Wright and another (as joint liquidators of SHB Realisations Ltd (formerly BHS Ltd)) v Prudential Assurance Companies Ltd [2018] EWHC 402 (Ch); [2018] All ER (D) 58 (Mar)

Synopsis

Daniel Gatty discusses the recent High Court ruling in Leon v Her Majesty’s Attorney General and others [2018] EWHC 3026 (Ch) and its impact on the grant of vesting orders following the disclaimer of a lease.

Readers of this column will be aware of the complications that can ensue when a lease is disclaimed by a tenant’s liquidator under section 178 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), by a tenant’s trustee in bankruptcy under section 315 of the IA 1986 or by the Crown under section 1013 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) following dissolution of a tenant company.

This is the third occasion on which I have posted on this blog on the issue of after the event insurance (ATE) policies and the impact which they have on applications for security for costs.

In the first post on 16 November 2017, I praised the judgment of Snowden J in Premier Motorauctions v Pricewaterhouse Coopers for appearing to bring clarity to an area which had for some time struggled with near irreconcilable decisions.

Can an adjudicator have jurisdiction over claims for sums owed to a referring party in liquidation? The TCC has decided in Lonsdale v Bresco that insolvency set-off precludes adjudication of such claims.

Background

Bresco had agreed to perform electrical installation works for Lonsdale in August 2014. Those works were not completed and both parties alleged wrongful termination. Bresco later became insolvent and entered into liquidation in March 2015.

The revised Practice Direction: Insolvency Proceedings

July 2018

In the framework of the reform of insolvency law that entered into force on 1 May 2018, the legislator has introduced important amendments regarding the liability of the directors in case of bankruptcy. These amended liability rules apply to directors of companies and not to physical persons who operate without a corporate structure.

1. Liability claim for apparent gross fault

Dans le cadre de la réforme du droit de l’insolvabilité qui est entrée en vigueur le 1er mai 2018, le législateur a opéré plusieurs modifications importantes concernant la responsabilité des administrateurs en cas de faillite. Les règles de responsabilité révisées valent pour les administrateurs de sociétés et non pour les personnes physiques qui bien qu’étant des entreprises, n’ont pas la structure d’une société.

1. Action en responsabilité pour faute grave et caractérisée

In het kader van de hervorming van het insolventierecht die op 1 mei 2018 van kracht is geworden, heeft de wetgever een aantal belangrijke wijzigingen doorgevoerd inzake de aansprakelijkheid van bestuurders bij een faillissement. De herziene aansprakelijkheidsregels gelden voor bestuurders van vennootschappen en niet voor natuurlijke personen die ondernemingen zijn maar geen vennootschapsstructuur hebben.

1. Aansprakelijkheidsvordering wegens kennelijk grove fout

La nouvelle loi sur l'insolvabilité est entrée en vigueur ce 1er mai 2018. La loi sur la continuité des entreprises (LCE), en tant que loi distincte, telle qu’elle existait jusqu’à récemment, a cessé d'exister et a été révisée et pleinement intégrée dans le livre XX CDE.