This is the twenty-ninth in our series of General Counsel Updates which aim to summarise major developments in key areas.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Beijing Kerry Centre South Tower, Ste. 823 No. 1 Guang Hua Rd., Chaoyang District Beijing 100020, China T: +86.10.5876.3500 F: +86.10.5876.3501 Morgan Lewis Stamford LLC 10 Collyer Quay #27-00 Ocean Financial Centre Singapore 049315 T: +65 6389 3000 F: +65 6389 3099 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 24th Fl.
There is no bigger fan of adjudication than me. While not perfect, I nevertheless believe that adjudication has changed the construction industry for the better since its inception in 2004.
The Government has now announced its intention to proceed with the introduction of a bill to establish a farm debt mediation scheme, based in many respects on comparable New South Wales legislation. It is important for secured lenders to farming enterprises to consider in advance the implications of the bill and the necessary changes to product design, documentation, client relationship management and enforcement processes which may be required.
The scheme is intended to provide for fair, equitable and timely resolution of farm debt issues with two key objectives:
Get your 5 Minute Fix of major projects and construction news. This issue: discover the latest cladding developments; resources construction work now caught by WA training levy; mind the gap: public transport at the urban fringe; avoid slip-ups in your payment schedule; and the availability of insolvency processes under the Corporations Act 2001 for recovering SOP debts.
Cladding update ‒ NSW
Without enforcement, an arbitration process and subsequent awards can be a pointless exercise. Freezing orders are an important tool in any dispute and a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Western Australia suggests that courts are willing to protect the enforceability of future awards.
The coronavirus pandemic has driven many companies into bankruptcy, including well-known names such as Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, J. Crew and Hertz. In addition to raising bankruptcy-specific issues, the resultant bankruptcy proceedings are likely to raise complex issues of insurance, especially coverage and loss measurement for business interruption losses asserted to have resulted from COVID-19.
Recent Hong Kong cases have highlighted varying approaches regarding the impact of arbitration clauses on insolvency proceedings, in particular, on the Court’s discretion to make a winding-up order where a debt is disputed.
Recent judgments have varied between the so-called Traditional Approach which requires the company-debtor to show a genuine dispute on substantial grounds and the Lasmos Approach which requires the company only to commence arbitration in a timely manner.
Hong Kong Court refuses to grant an antisuit injunction to stay a winding-up petition where an arbitration agreement existed
21 August 2020
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has dismissed an application by a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company (C) for an interim anti-suit injunction against proceedings commenced by a Cayman Islands company (D) for the winding-up of the BVI company in the High Court of the BVI.