Privilege bestowed on (syndicated) creditors instigating the insolvency proceedings against the debtor
Preamble
Equality among all creditors (the so-called par conditio creditorum) is a basic principle under Spanish insolvency rules. Only specific exceptions envisaged in the Spanish insolvency law allow for a particular creditor to take precedence over others in the recovery of its claims against the debtor.
Generally speaking, the following ranking applies to insolvency claims (excluding predeductible claims):
Análisis GA&P | Febrero 2016 1 N. de la C.: En las citas literales se ha rectificado en lo posible —sin afectar al sentido— la grafía de ciertos elementos (acentos, mayúsculas, símbolos, abreviaturas, cursivas...) para adecuarlos a las normas tipográficas utilizadas en el resto del texto. Ante las dificultades competenciales y materiales en asuntos derivados del concurso de acreedores, siempre resultan sumamente interesantes las conclusiones alcanzadas por jueces o magistrados especialistas en materia mercantil en sus diferentes reuniones periódicas.
Analysis GA&P | February 2016 1 Given the jurisdictional and material difficulties arising in the context of insolvency proceedings, the conclusions reached by judges specialised in corporate and commercial matters, in their various regular meetings, are invariably of tremendous interest. The recent conference held in Pamplona at the beginning of last November was no exception, particularly so, as far as this paper is concerned, in relation to the employment and Social Security aspects of a production unit transfer. As is well known, the referral of arts.
A Carey Olsen regulatory team consisting of Guernsey partner Mark Dunster and associate Luke Sayer, have had a significant success for their client, a leading financial services business (the “Liquidator” or “Applicant”), by successfully making an application for the restoration of a Guernsey company – previously a property holding company (the “Company”) - pursuant to the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008, as amended (the “Companies Law”).
THE ISSUE
It is known to everyone operating in the Spanish restructuring market that taking security to secure pre-existing indebtedness of a particular borrower is not a risk-free matter.
INTRODUCTION
The Royal Court of Guernsey has taken the welcome step of dedicating specific court time to company and insolvency matters.
THE PRACTICE DIRECTION
El Reglamento 2015/848, del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, sobre procedimientos de insolvencia (texto refundido), sustituye al Reglamen- to 1346/2000 y se aplicará a los procedimientos de insolvencia que se abran después del 26 de junio del 2017 (DOUE L 141, de 5 de junio).
Regulation 2015/848 of the European Parliament and the Council on insolvency proceedings (recast) replaces Regulation 1346/2000 and shall apply to insolvency proceedings opened after 26 June 2017 (OJ L 141, 5 June).
The Fiduciary Duties of Directors
When a company enters the zone of insolvency (the so-called “twilight zone”), conflicts of interest between the company, its shareholders and the different stakeholders, such as creditors, are ignited and the pressure on directors for contradictory forms of action is intensified.
In an important judgment published last week, the Royal Court of Jersey has provided guidance to trustees and other holders of fiduciary powers in relation to the exercise of powers when a trust is considered to be “insolvent”. Counsel in the case was unable to find any relevant authority on this subject in any other trusts jurisdiction, so this may well be one of the first cases to deal with this issue.