In Body Corporate 341188 v Kelly, a judgment debtor sought to overturn an Associate Judge's decision not to set aside a bankruptcy notice. The notice was in respect of a District Court judgment and a costs order obtained by the Body Corporate in a separate High Court proceeding. The debtor argued (among other grounds) that the notice was invalid because it was in respect of two judgment debts rather than one.
Three recent decisions clarify issues around personal bankruptcy proceedings.
These include:
compromise proposals
procedures for substitution of creditors, and
vesting of property disclaimed by the Official Assignee.
Debtors' compromises in bankruptcy proceedings
A bankruptcy notice under the Insolvency Act requires the debtor to pay the debt or compromise the amount owing on terms that satisfy the Court or the creditor.
Mr Maharaj owned a building company. Ms Nandani, his wife, owns a residential property. Mr Maharaj needed funding, which he could not obtain. However, the necessary funds were loaned to Ms Nandani and secured over her property. Ms Nandani subsequently contended that:
In Intext Coatings Ltd (In Liquidation) v Deo, the High Court was again asked to consider the limits of the equitable remedy of tracing (previously considered here). In particular, the Court was asked to consider the circumstances in which 'backward tracing' (the tracing of trust funds used to repay a debt into the asset over which that debt arose) is available.
El Tribunal Supremo desestima, en su sentencia de 13 de marzo de 2017, el recurso de casación presentado por una sociedad en concurso de acreedores que pretendía el pago por parte de una sociedad a la que había transmitido ciertos activos durante el concurso, de la cantidad que se acordó retener por las partes en concepto de gastos a cargo del vendedor, argumentando que no se admite en sede de concurso la compensación de créditos (ex. art. 58 LC, que proscribe la compensación de los créditos concursales).
El Tribunal Supremo confirma que la atribución de un privilegio especial, en caso de créditos garantizados con prenda sobre derechos de crédito futuros, depende de que la relación de la que emana el crédito ofrecido en garantía existiera antes de la declaración de concurso.
Year in Review – Derecho Español en 2016
En los últimos meses se han sucedido en España dos procesos de elecciones generales y las distintas fuerzas políticas no han llegado a un acuerdo para formar gobierno hasta octubre de 2016. Lo anterior ha supuesto una ralentización importante de la actividad legislativa. Destacamos a continuación las principales novedades normativas y jurisprudenciales de 2016:
Year in Review – Spanish Law in 2016
Two general elections were held in Spain recently (the first in December 2015) and the various political parties were unable to reach an agreement to form a government until October 2016. This meant a major slowdown in law-making activity. The following are the main legislative changes and case-law precedents from 2016:
The Insolvency Act (22/2003) is based on the principle of universality with regard to assets and liabilities. However, in accordance with the act, certain credits – including maritime privileged credits – must be separated from a bankruptcy estate, resulting in a breach of this principle.
La Dirección General de Tributos examina, en un contexto de consolidación fiscal, las consecuencias fiscales de una operación en virtud de la cual la entidad dominante condona los créditos que tiene sobre sus filiales, derechos adquiridos previamente por medio de una operación de reestructuración empresarial no acogida al régimen de neutralidad fiscal y registrados por un valor inferior a su nominal.