The European insolvency landscape is undergoing a period of intense transformation, driven by EU-level legislative initiatives and national responses to disruptions – most notably the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) is designed to give “honest, but unfortunate debtors” a “fresh start” by automatically staying litigation and dealing with the bankrupt’s debts and liabilities in an orderly fashion. But what if the bankrupt was dishonest? Should they be entitled to have litigation stayed and their debts discharged? The BIA contains tools to address this.
In a case of first impression in the Ninth Circuit, the US Court of Appeals recently handed bankruptcy trustees a significant power by ruling in TheLovering Tubbs Trust v. Hoffman (In re O’Gorman) that a trustee can avoid intentionally fraudulent transfers under the Federal Bankruptcy Code, even if no creditor suffered harm as a result.
On August 28, 2024, Judge Gregory B. Williams of the US District Court for the District of Delaware issued a ruling in AIG Financial Products Corporation, Civ. No. 23-573, affirming an order on appeal from the Delaware Bankruptcy Court that denied a motion to dismiss a chapter 11 petition as a bad faith filing.
Construction insolvency is not a new problem. With the continued presence of fixed price contracts, in an industry which has always been troubled with cash flow problems and low profit margins, coupled with persistent cost inflation and labour and materials issues affecting the supply chain, it is no surprise that we continue to see insolvencies. The question is, what can you do to protect yourself from insolvency?
2020年の初めに新型コロナウイルス感染症（COVID-19）パンデミックが広がり始めてから、その拡散を抑えるために全米の州知事が事業の閉鎖を命じる行政命令を出しました。多くの事業主が、事業閉鎖期間の賃料の支払義務から逃れるための救済手段を探ろうとして賃貸借契約書、特にその不可抗力(force majeure)条項を調べました。事業体やその弁護士は、今まで経験したことのない性質のパンデミックと相次ぐ事業閉鎖を目の当たりにしていますが、そのような重要事項の指針となる判例はわずかしかありませんでした。しかし、イリノイ州J.B.プリツカー知事がCOVID-19危機の対応策として、レストランに対して同施設で食事をする客に料理を出す(on-premises consumption)ことを禁じる行政命令を出した結果1、 Hitz Restaurant Group事件において、イリノイ州北部地区連邦破産裁判所は、近時、賃貸借契約書に含まれる不可抗力条項に基づき、テナント（賃借人）‐債務者の賃料支払義務は一部免除されると判示しました。
概要
新型コロナウイルス感染症（COVID-19）パンデミックが、引き続き世界経済に多大な被害を及ぼしています。そのような状況で、破産手続の申請により債務救済措置を講じる米国会社の数が増えていることにお気づきかもしれません。この数カ月のうちに破産手続の申請をした企業には、J.C. Penney、Hertz、Gold’s Gymをはじめとして、最近ではChesapeake EnergyやBriggs & Strattonなど、多種の産業セクターに属する会社が含まれています。米国では、2020年後半に、COVID-19による倒産・破産件数が急増する傾向があり、そのような傾向は2021年に入ってもさらに続くことを予測しているビジネス・アナリストもいます。 |
Executive Summary
A successful purchase depends not just on negotiating a two-party transaction, but rather navigating the applicable process and dealing with all the competing interests successfully to allow a bid to succeed and closing to occur.
Q: Do opportunities exist for asset buyers in times of distress?
Creditors risk losing important rights in bankruptcy cases if deadlines are not met. Unfortunately, sometimes the existence or relevance of a deadline is not obvious to a creditor. Indeed, bankruptcy notices can be indecipherable and tempting to ignore, but failing to abide by deadlines comes at a high price. A recent opinion from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts underscores the need for creditors to take timely action to preserve rights, which is especially noteworthy given the current coronavirus pandemic and the expected increase in bankruptcy filings.