In a previous Legal Insight, we foreshadowed potential guidance from the ASX on the interaction between the new insolvent trading safe harbour laws and the continuous disclosure obligations of a public company.
The New South Wales Supreme Court of Appeal's decision in Sanderson as Liquidator of Sakr Nominees [1] has given cause for optimism amongst insolvency practitioners. The decision confirms that the correct approach was taken by the Court inIdylic Solutions [2], bucking a trend in recent years of limiting or reducing practitioner remuneration by reference to a proportion of the funds recovered.
In a recent opinion, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon reminds all finance lawyers (and participants trying to document a finance transaction without legal assistance) that recording an “assignment” of a deed of trust is not always sufficient to perfect an interest in the real property.
An Australian Tale
2017 is shaping up to be a challenging year for insolvency practitioners in Australia, from the Insolvency Law Reform Act 2016 (Cth) (ILRA), which comes with a raft of reforms to practitioner remuneration and creditors' powers, to the new ASIC 'user pay' funding model which could potentially impact negatively on insolvency practitioners and the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) Recovery Program's pursuit of claims against insolvency practitioners.
In Dore v. Sweports, Ltd., C.A. No. 10513-VCL (Del. Ch. January 31, 2017), plaintiffs John A. Dore, Michael J. O’Rourke, and Michael C. Moody (together, “Plaintiffs”) sought indemnification under the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) and corporate bylaws, for expenses incurred in connection with three legal proceedings that occurred in Illinois, as well as those incurred enforcing their indemnification rights in Delaware.
Background
January 2017
Practice Group: Banking & Asset Finance
New UAE Insolvency Law
By Simon Mabin
Executive Summary
The new bankruptcy law was published in the Official Gazette dated 29 September 2016 following the issuance of Federal Decree Law No.9 of 2016 on Bankruptcy (the "Bankruptcy Law"). The Bankruptcy Law is expected to become effective in December 2016 / early 2017.
January 2017
Practice Group: Restructuring & Insolvency
Banking & Asset Finance
Modernised UK Insolvency Rules Arriving April 2017
By Jonathan Lawrence
The updated UK Insolvency Rules 2016 will come into force on 6 April 2017. The new rules have four aims:
o to reflect modern business practice and increase efficiency; o to restructure and modernise the 1986 Rules; o to implement policy changes; and o to consolidate the 1986 Rules and subsequent amendments.
In October 2016, Singapore’s Ministry of Law (“MOL”) launched a public consultation to gather public feedback on proposed amendments to the Companies Act for debt restructuring.[1]
In a November 17, 2016 ruling likely to impact ongoing debt restructurings, pending bankruptcy proceedings and negotiations of new debt issuances, the Third Circuit recently overturned refusals by both the Delaware bankruptcy court and district court to enforce “make-whole” payments from Energy Futures Holding Company LLC and EFIH Finance Inc. (collectively, “EFIH”) to rule that the relevant indenture provisions supported the payments. The case was remanded to the bankruptcy court for further proceedings.
On December 1, 2016, the amendments to Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 aimed at clarifying when a secured creditor must file a payment change notice (“PCN”) in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy take effect. The new rule requires secured creditors to file PCNs on all claims secured by the Chapter 13 debtor’s primary residence for which the debtor or Chapter 13 Trustee is making post-petition payments during the bankruptcy, without regard to whether the debtor is curing a pre-petition arrearage.