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The lack of harmonised insolvency laws has long been regarded as one of the greatest obstacles to the free movement of capital in the EU in general and to cross-border investments, insolvency proceedings and restructuring in particular.

Die EU-Kommission hat einen Richtlinienentwurf u.a. zur verpflichtenden Aufnahme eines „Pre-pack-Verfahrens“ in die nationalen Insolvenzgesetze vorgelegt.

Die Entscheidung des BGH zur Wirksamkeit insolvenzabhängiger Lösungsklauseln könnte der Grundstein einer neuen Linie in der Rechtsprechung werden.

Introduction

In a recent article we considered the nature and extent of directors’ duties to take into account the interests of a company’s creditors when a company is in financial difficulty. A recent High Court decision (Mitchell & Krys v Al Jaber & ors [2023] EWHC 364 (Ch)) considered the issue of directors’ duties in the subsequent situation where a company has entered liquidation. Whilst the relevant company was based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the case includes analysis of the position in English law.

It is generally accepted that the push towards a greener future requires robust legislation, and in the case of common law jurisdictions ,supportive legal precedent which will assist in framing the landscape for the enforcement of environmental remediation obligations.

Introduction:

On 5 October 2022, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA [2022]. The decision is the first from the Supreme Court to address when, and in what circumstances, company directors owe a duty to consider the interests of the company’s creditors (‘’the creditor duty’’).

The case of John Doyle Construction Ltd v Erith Contractors Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1452 (07 October 2021) saw the Court of Appeal re-explore the conflict between the adjudication process and insolvency following the Supreme Court decision ofBresco Electrical Services Ltd v Michael J Lonsdale Ltd.

According to press reports, utilities contractor NMCN (formerly North Midland Construction) plc and its subsidiary NMCN Sustainable Solutions Limited, have gone into administration.

Administration is the procedure by which a company that is, or is likely to become, insolvent can be reorganised or have its assets realised for the benefit of creditors. The primary aim of an administration is to rescue the company so that it can continue to trade as a going concern. If this is not possible, a company may go into administration for two other purposes:

As Andrew Jones and Daniela Miklova report, the recent case of Ristorante Limited t/a Bar Massimo v Zurich Insurance plc [2021] EWHC 2538 is a useful insight into how the Court will interpret the questions and answers in insurers’ proposal forms in coverage disputes. It also shows how insurers can lose potential policy defences through the drafting of proposal form questions going wrong.

In a recent decision, the German Federal Supreme Court addressed the applicability of the Business Judgement Rule to insolvency administrators in Germany and rejected the applicability of the rule in the specific case that was argued before it.