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 The Court of Rovigo (1st August 2016) confirms that the debtor shall regularly perform obligations arising after the concordato filing from an existing contract, when the debtor elects not to apply to the Court to terminate it

The case

 The Court of Milan (18 April 2016) sticks to its own precedents mandating automatic termination, notwithstanding the recent decision of the Court of Cassation (19 February 2016, No. 3324) requiring that an actual prejudice for the creditors be ascertained

The case

The consequences for cross-border insolvencies will largely depend on how Brexit is implemented, but will not affect schemes of arrangement

Foreword

Understanding and mastering cross-border insolvency requires a thorough knowledge of the different domestic insolvency regimes, all of which have distinctive procedures and rules on jurisdiction and recognition of foreign proceedings. Creditors and debtors look for the most favourable system: in this framework, the UK insolvency system is usually considered “creditor-focused”.

Since The Insolvency Act 2003 (the Act) was enacted, there has been some confusion as to whether it provided a basis for liquidators to draw fees on account before having formal approval from either a creditors' committee or the Court. On 20 September 2016, the BVI Commercial Court clarified the position and specifically provided that newly appointed liquidators could draw payments of up to 80% on account of their reasonable remuneration and expenses on an interim basis without the need to obtain prior approval from the creditors' committee or the Court.

This is a short guide to solvent voluntary liquidations of companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. It is not intended as a substitute for full legal advice but more as an aide memoire to the procedures involved.

1. Why is the company being put into solvent voluntary liquidation/being "wound up"?

A BVI company generally has no limit on its duration. However, like all good things, a company may come to the end of its useful life. This may be because the assets it held have been transferred out or sold.

The Italian Supreme Court (5 July 2016, No. 13719) issues a maiden decision on the conditions for theprotection afforded by restructuring plan to stand if the plan fails and bankruptcy is declared

The case

The Court of Cassation (13 June 2016, No. 12120) confirmed that a limited liability company can bedeclared bankrupt, if it is found that the company is a partner of an insolvent de facto partnership

The case

The Court of Trento (3 May 2016) ruled that the judicial liquidator of the concordato is entitled to bring aclaim against directors and statutory auditors, although the claim is not considered by the liquidationplan and has not been approved by the shareholders of the company

The Case

The Court of Cassation (29 March 2016, No. 6045) ruled that the look-­back period for claw-­back actionsstarts from the concordato filing, when bankruptcy was declared after a period of time, provided thatboth procedures refer to the same insolvency situation

The case