A recent ruling by US Federal Judge Rhodes has held that the city of Detroit is eligible to file for bankruptcy under US federal bankruptcy laws and can now attempt to re-organise its US$18.5b debt.

A creditor of a company subject to a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) was recently successful in seeking termination of the DOCA by the court. As a result of the company's non-compliance with the DOCA, the majority of creditors resolved to extend the term of the DOCA and increase the amount to be paid by the company. The applicant creditor alleged that the DOCA should be terminated because the company had failed to make payment in accordance with it, and the variation had not taken effect.

The Court made an order terminating the DOCA on the grounds that:

Warren Metals v Grant [2013] NZHC 263 was a successful appeal against a District Court decision that struck out the appellant's cause of action on the basis that the District Court did not have jurisdiction to review the acts of liquidators.

In the recent English decision of Neumans LLP v Andronikou & Others, a company had unsuccessfully opposed a winding up petition and the question for the Court was whether the solicitors' costs in doing so were an expense of the administration. In considering this issue, the Court noted that there would have to be "some special reason, connected with the administration" to make the administrators pay fees in full as an expense when statutory provisions did not allow for solicitors to have priority over other creditors and those entitled to claim expenses.

In Aditude Advertising Limited (in liq.) v Techday Limited [2012] NZHC 1884, Aditude Advertising Limited (in liquidation) (Aditude) and Techday Limited (Techday), were members of the Bartercard system, a credit trading system.  Under this system members could exchange goods and services without exchanging cash or other legal tender.  Aditude went into liquidation with a significant credit in its Bartercard account for services rendered to Techday.  The liquidators issued a statutory demand against Techday seeking to recover the actual cash value of the invoices issue

In this case Westpac sought to have joint debtors Thomas and Sheena Fuller adjudicated bankrupt. 

The Court of Appeal in Vance v Huhtamaki New Zealand Limited considered the ability of a receiver to limit his or her personal liability for post-receivership contracts under section 32 of the Receiverships Act 1993.

Mr Petricevic is the former director of Bridgecorp and currently faces criminal charges of fraud that carry with them the possibility of a maximum of 49 years in prison.

A recent decision confirms that liquidators can require creditors and other persons with relevant knowledge about the affairs of the company in liquidation to provide information.

Susheel Dutt has unsuccessfully appealed a decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal that he was guilty of unbecoming conduct, negligence or incompetence in a professional capacity and the suspension of his membership for a period of 18 months, highlighting the important role that insolvency practitioners play and the high standards expected of the profession.