The list of successful restructurings outside insolvency proceedings is as long as it is confidential. Every year, companies of all sizes are stabilised and sustainably restructured without the stigma of insolvency proceedings. However, until now there has been no European legal framework for pre-insolvency restructurings and only a few national laws explicitly provide for the possibility of such preventive restructurings. This will change now.
The Austrian Insolvency Code provides for the possibility to challenge certain disadvantageous transactions carried out by the debtor after material insolvency has occurred, especially if the creditor knew or should have known of its debtor's material insolvency. This risk of legal actions being contested is of particularly high relevance for shareholders who are also creditors of the debtor company, as the Austrian Supreme Court recently decided that shareholders' information rights would result in an increased level of due diligence.
The Court of Appeal judgment in JSC BTA Bank v Mukhtar Ablyazov, Madiyar Ablyazov [2018] EWCA Civ 1176 confirms the correct approach when assessing the ‘prohibited purpose’ element of section 423 claims.
Summary
For anyone thinking of donating antiques or other valuable gifts to be part of a museum collection there is a moral to follow: beware how you give and to who you give it to! This was never better demonstrated than in the example of the Wedgwood collection and the case of the disappearing museum.
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
Tiuta International Ltd (In Liquidation) v De Villiers Surveyors Ltd [2017] UKSC 77
Overview
Carillion was perhaps best known for its public sector work. However, the insolvency of the UK’s second-largest construction company will inevitably have significant implications for the private sector.
Question
My client is buying a property from a receiver appointed under an equitable charge granted by a company which has become insolvent. The charge gives a receiver a power of sale and contains a power of attorney. Will the receiver be able to sign all the necessary documents to allow the transaction to proceed to completion?
Answer
(1) Timothy Crowden and (2) Carol Crowden v. QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited [2017] EWHC 2597 (Comm)
Summary
This case involved a claim in respect of negligent investment advice brought directly against the insurer of an insolvent financial adviser, pursuant to the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930 (the “1930 Act”).
The insurer successfully relied on an insolvency exclusion clause contained within the insolvent adviser’s professional indemnity policy in order to deny liability to the claimants.
Case Facts
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.