It is inevitable that companies will face periods of financial distress during their corporate lives. During these times, it is incumbent on the directors and management to seek to maximise the company's chances of survival and preserve value for stakeholders. Certainly it has not been uncommon for directors to use the threat of voluntary administration as a part of their stakeholder management strategy during these times.

Creditors' rights to information and records

While the High Court has provided some clarity on the operation of the statutory priority regime, insolvency practitioners will still need to tread carefully when dealing with corporate trustees.

For insolvency practitioners who need clarity on how receivers and/or liquidators should pay, out of trust assets, priority employee claims arising from trust liabilities, the High Court's decision in Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts Australia Pty Ltd v The Commonwealth of Australia & Ors [2019] HCA 20 (Amerind) is a welcome result.

A recent Full Court decision is a win for directors who hold D&O insurance policies, as well as those seeking to bring proceedings against directors of an insolvent company – probably to the dismay of insurers.

Increasingly, formal restructures, whether solvent or insolvent in nature, are closely aligned to court-supervised processes, adding certainty and transparency to the restructuring process.

The decision in the Go Energy Group is an important one for insolvency practitioners, who now have guidance on how to manage the conflicts that can arise when acting as liquidator to multiple companies within a corporate group.

The Belgian legislature once again recently improved the statutory framework for business restructuring. Thus, any business - a broad concept that covers not only companies and non-profits but also independent contractors - in financial difficulty may request the opening of judicial reorganisation proceedings (procédure en réorganisation judiciaire), commonly referred to by insiders as "PRJ".

The Kaboko judgment brings comfort to directors who hold D&O insurance policies, or those seeking to bring proceedings against directors of an insolvent company, provided the claim is not based in whole or in part on the company's insolvency.

The Dutch Supreme Court today confirmed the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals which found that the bankruptcy of Russian oil company Yukos cannot be recognised in the Netherlands because it came about in a manner which violates Dutch public policy. Today's decision marks the end of a court battle that lasted more than a decade. 

30 January 2019 marks the seventh anniversary of when the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) started to apply and, as registrations against serial numbers and/or consumer property can only have a duration of 7 years, that means those types of registrations (if made in 2012) will expire automatically this year unless they are renewed.

If you have made registrations on the PPS register that are for a period of 7 years (or less):