Administrators can be validly appointed to a company by the holder of a floating charge which was given by the company in breach of a negative pledge in favour of an existing secured creditor and even if, both at the time of the purported creation of that floating charge and on the day of the purported appointment of administrators, the company had no assets which were the subject of the floating charge.

On 27 December 2016, the Board of the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (“FSA”) analysed the status of the insurance and reinsurance undertaking LIG Insurance SA, ultimately, commencing bankruptcy procedures against LIG Insurance SA and withdrawing its license to carry on insurance and reinsurance activity (FSA Decision 2347/2016).

According to the FSA, on 31 October 2016 the company had: (i) negative own capital of RON 56.2 million; and (ii) a liquidity ratio of 0.44, resulting in concern over its capacity to cover its due obligations using own funds.

We saw important amendments to the Bulgarian Commerce Act (the “Act”) come to life at the very end of 2016, most notably regarding:

Notary certifications – currently in effect

Below are the summaries for this week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal.

Topics covered this week included a number of civil procedure issues (civil contempt, appeal routes, administrative dismissals for delay), of couple of real property/municipal law cases (dedication of roads, relief from forfeiture) and an unjust enrichment case in the context of a family dispute.

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Have a nice weekend.

Hello,

If you are served with a demand letter from your lender, you don’t have to fold up your tent and give in. If, like most companies, you feel that if you had more time, you could improve the situation (to the benefit of the Bank and the company), there are options. Here are 5 things that you can consider which will make it more likely that the Bank will either agree, or be forced to agree, to give you some more time to come up with a better solution.

In an important judgment, the High Court has tackled the question of whether an impecunious claimant can defeat a defendant’s application for security for costs on the basis that it has ATE insurance in place.

Good afternoon,

Here are this week’s Court of Appeal Summaries. Civil topics covered included MVA, SABs, family law, vexatious litigants, employment law, simplified procedure and another chapter in the Indian Residential Schools settlement.The RJM56 Investments Inc v Kurnik decision highlights the importance of litigators not treating the tax implications of a settlement as an afterthought and of obtaining tax advice before completing a settlement.

Have a great weekend!

John Polyzogopoulos

Blaney McMurtry LLP

Hello,

The Court of Session has confirmed that the administration in Scotland of a Scottish company will take priority over an Indian liquidation of the same company, regardless of where the company’s business and assets are situated. The Court has also confirmed that the validity and enforceability outside the UK of a floating charge is irrelevant to the validity of an administrator’s appointment in Scotland under that floating charge.