On 31 December 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the "Federal Court of Appeals") ruled that the uptiering transaction conducted by Serta Simmons Bedding LLC ("Serta") did not constitute an "open market purchase", reversing the 2023 summary judgment of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the "Texas Bankruptcy Court") that rejected the excluded lenders' claims for breach of the credit agreement. The Federal Court of Appeals also reversed the approval of certain plan provisions relating to an indemnity for the uptiering transaction.
On July 31, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada provided clarity regarding the treatment of administrative monetary penalties and disgorgement orders resulting from securities violations in Poonian v. British Columbia (Securities Commission).
As we enter 2025, we look back on five important decisions that made the news in 2024. Here is the the first case.
The perspective of a landlord
In brief
A tenant's insolvency hits landlords particularly hard. Existing rental securities (e.g., rent deposit, landlord's lien) cannot always cushion the loss of rent and operating costs. Especially in times of the current energy crisis and rising costs, this issue is becoming increasingly explosive. This is demonstrated by the numerous insolvencies in the fashion retail sector, such as Galeria, Peek & Cloppenburg, KaDeWe and Esprit. High rents are often of the main reasons for insolvency.
The general rule in bankruptcy is that a debtor receives a “fresh start” and is discharged from prior debts, but this is subject to certain exceptions. Subsection 178(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) sets out eight classes of debts that are not released by an order of discharge including an exception for debts that arise out of fraud. In Poonian v.
The recent Grand Court decision of Ltd. (Unreported, 19 June 2024, Kawaley J) has reiterated and further clarified the principles to be applied to the remuneration of court-appointed receivers. Given the limited Cayman case law on the topic, the decision provides useful guidance and certainty to Receivers, and to those advising them.
What is a court-appointed 'Receiver', and what is 'remuneration'?
The Privy Council endorsed the Commercial Court's approach in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in staying insolvency proceedings, even when faced with a pre-existing arbitration agreement, only when a debt is genuinely disputed on substantial grounds.
Introduction
FinReg Update [Jurisdiction] 2024 Regulatory Update Cayman – Q3 2024 Quick Fire Updates mourant.com 1. CRS reporting reminders The Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) issued an Updates Bulletin in June 2024 reminding Cayman Islands financial Institutions (FIs) of the following common reporting standard (CRS) annual reporting obligations: CRS Filing Declaration – required by all FIs with a CRS reporting obligation (deadline 31 July 2024) • FIs must make a CRS return to the DITC for each Reportable Account maintained during the reporting period.
Following the recent conflicting decisions in HQP Corporation (in official liquidation)1(HQP) and Direct Lending Income Feeder Fund, Ltd (in official liquidation)2 (DLI), Simon Dickson and Laura Stone of Mourant Ozannes (Cayman) LLP consider whether shareholder misrepresentation claims can be admitted in a Cayman Islands liquidation.
Hector Robinson KC
Partner | Cayman Islands
Justine Lau
Partner | Hong Kong
Nicholas Fox
Partner | Cayman Islands
Peter Hayden
Partner | Cayman Islands
Simon Dickson
Partner | Cayman Islands
Guide
This guide examines what a creditor needs to know about liquidating an insolvent Cayman company under the Cayman Companies Act (2020 Revision) and the Companies Winding Up Rules, 2018.