The practice of energy companies in insolvency situations has long been a cause for frustration: in most cases the supplier will terminate the existing supply contract and a new - deemed - statutory contract at much higher rates will then apply.
After six years of legal action and investigations, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) has agreed a £184 million settlement with PwC, administrators for the Lehman Brothers Group, which has secured members' benefits under the UK pension scheme. It also means the scheme will not go into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).
Following the insolvency of the Lehman group in 2008, TPR began regulatory action in 2010 seeking the issue of a Financial Support Direction (FSD) to certain UK group companies. An FSD requires recipients to provide extra financial support to a scheme.
Di Cioccio v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy [2014] FCA 782
Examination of whether shares purchased from a bankrupt’s income below the threshold amount in respect of which he was required to make contributions to his trustee under Division 4B of Part 6 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966(Cth) is within the meaning of “after acquired property” in s 58(1).
This update considers the recent High Court decision in Thomasand Another v Edmondson (12/05.2014) concerning the court’s ability to make an income payment order against a bankrupt who is already subject to an income payment agreement.
The background
This update focusses on Teresa Graham’s recent review on pre-pack administration published by the Government which sets out areas for improvement and provides detailed recommendations to help better the procedure.
The background
Preamble
The COMI rules prevent a foreign based company from accessing the UK insolvency regimes, unless it has a sufficient connection with the UK. However, in Christophorus 3 Limited the High Court approved the ‘flipping up’ of a specially created UK newco in a German group to enter administration.
The background
The High Court described this case as ‘an elaborate scheme for the restructuring and refinancing’ of a German group.
Many schemes will see a sharp increase in their levy next year as a result of the PPF’s new and more discriminative insolvency scoring system.
To give you an idea, the PPF expects:
MK Builders Pty Ltd v 36 Warrigal Road Pty Ltd & Ors [2014] VSC 149
The decision is significant because it confirms that a payment of a dividend to a creditor does not necessarily extinguish the company’s claim for the balance in fact owing to it.
Akers as a joint representative of Saad Investments Company Limited (in Official Liquidation) v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2014] FCAFC 57
The Full Federal Court has confirmed a “modified universalism” approach to cross-border insolvencies, and provided guidance on what is required for the “adequate protection” of rights of local creditors under the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (‘Model Law’), as enacted in Australia by the Cross-Border Insolvency Act 2008 (Cth).