Following Treasury’s announcement on 24 September 2020 that it will introduce a suite of reforms to Australia’s insolvency framework, the Corporations Amendment (Corporate Insolvency Reforms) Bill 2020 (Cth) (Draft Bill) was released for public consultation between 7 and 12 October 2020, providing much needed clarity as to the practical effect of the insolvency reforms, which are expected to commence on 1 January 2021.
The Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord) – which introduces a framework allowing debtors to restructure their debts outside formal insolvency proceedings (the “Dutch Scheme“) – was adopted by the Dutch Senate on 6 October 2020 and will enter into force on 1 January 2021.
2020 has evolved in a way no-one could have predicted, and there is still much uncertainty as to what the future looks like (particularly as a result of Government stimulus payments and rent freezes varying or coming to an end, and newly announced insolvency law reforms that will affect businesses with liabilities of less than $1 million). While the outlook is not entirely pessimistic, suppliers should be preparing themselves for all scenarios.
Welcome to our latest edition of FMCG Express! 2020 continues to be an eventful year, although we are cautiously optimistic that we may be turning a corner in Australia. While COVID-19 continues to cast a shadow over our lives, our cities are starting to show green shoots of life, which is welcome news. Our thoughts are with our families, clients, associates, friends and colleagues in countries where numbers are at very concerning levels. In this edition, we have some useful COVID-19 reading. Siobhan Mulcahy considers the ongoing issues of JobKeeper with casual workers.
In the recent decision of Cant v Mad Brothers Earthmoving,[1] the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria (Justices Beach, McLeish and Hargrave) considered whether the liquidator of Eliana Construction and Developing Group (in liquidation) (Eliana) could establish that a payment made to an unsecured creditor of Eliana by one of Eliana’s related companies was an unfair preference.
The recent Federal Court decision of Scott v Southern Highlands Waste & Recycling Pty Ltd[1] provides liquidators with important guidance regarding the availability of search and seizure warrants under section 530C of the Corporations Act2001 (Cth) (the Corps Act).
In Caron and Seidlitz v Jahani and McInerney in their capacity as liquidators of Courtenay House Pty Ltd (in liq) & Courtenay House Capital Trading Group Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 2),[1] the New South Wales Court of Appeal was faced with what it described as the ‘classic insolvency conundrum’: how to distribute funds to investors as equally and as fairly as possible where the funds have
Van de lasten onder dwangsom aan Alvat (1997) en DIT (2013) tot het kostenverhaal op Bavin (2014) en North Refinery (2019), de handhaving van milieurecht in faillissementssituaties blijft een uitdaging voor gemeenten, provincies en omgevingsdiensten. De rechtbank Rotterdam wil nu een einde maken aan alle onduidelijkheid.
The recently announced proposed insolvency reforms draw on key features from Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States and aim to help more small businesses restructure and survive the economic impact of COVID-19.
The reforms will cover around 76% of businesses subject to insolvencies today, 98% of whom have less than 20 employees.[1]
On 29 September 2020, the Dutch Senate’s justice committee decided that the Dutch Scheme bill can be dealt with as a formality (hamerstuk) without further debate. It did so after the Dutch Government submitted to the Dutch Senate’s justice committee its memorandum of reply (Memorie van Antwoord) regarding the Dutch Scheme, or to use the full title: the Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (commonly referred to as the WHOA, after its Dutch acronym). This blog highlights the various topics covered in the memorandum of reply.