Carillion was perhaps best known for its public sector work. However, the insolvency of the UK’s second-largest construction company will inevitably have significant implications for the private sector.
Question
My client is buying a property from a receiver appointed under an equitable charge granted by a company which has become insolvent. The charge gives a receiver a power of sale and contains a power of attorney. Will the receiver be able to sign all the necessary documents to allow the transaction to proceed to completion?
Answer
(1) Timothy Crowden and (2) Carol Crowden v. QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited [2017] EWHC 2597 (Comm)
Summary
This case involved a claim in respect of negligent investment advice brought directly against the insurer of an insolvent financial adviser, pursuant to the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930 (the “1930 Act”).
The insurer successfully relied on an insolvency exclusion clause contained within the insolvent adviser’s professional indemnity policy in order to deny liability to the claimants.
Case Facts
Global Corporate Limited v Dirk Stefan Hale [2017] EWHC 2277 (Ch)
Summary
A recent judgment re-iterates the importance of carefully drafting a deed of assignment when assigning claims.
In Global Corporate, the liquidators of a company assigned certain claims by way of a deed of assignment to Global Corporate Limited (the “Assignee”). The Assignee (the Applicant in this case) then brought several claims against the company’s former director and shareholder.
Re Diffraction Diamonds DMCC [2017] EWHC 1368 (Ch)
This case deals with the English Court’s jurisdiction to wind up foreign companies, on the grounds of public interest. While it does not create new law, it is a helpful review of the authorities, particularly Re Titan International Inc [1998] 1 BVLC 102 (“Titan”).
Case Facts
This case raised the issue of when a company in financial distress (or the directors of that company) should issue a Notice of Intention to Appoint an Administrator (“NOITA”) which affords a moratorium under Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (“IA86”).
You will have previously seen a landlord's consent is usually required to enable a pharmacist to assign or sell their lease to a third party.
It is usual for the landlord's consent to be specified not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
On a lease assignment a landlord will want to ensure that the tenant is of sufficient financial strength to be able to comply with the lease covenants (including payment of the rent).
Horton v Henry: Pensions clarified
We previously discussed the uncertainty surrounding the treatment of pensions in a bankruptcy which arose from two conflicting high court decisions: Raithatha v Williamson [2012] EWHC 909 (Ch) and Horton v Henry [2014] EWHC 4209 (Ch).
In Hinton v Wotherspoon [2016] EWHC 623 (CH) (where this firm successfully represented the trustee in bankruptcy, Lloyd Hinton of Insolve Plus Limited), the court commented that the approach in Horton v Henry [2014] EWHC 4209 (Ch) was “plainly correct”.
On 30 September 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) published its finding that two companies involved in the online retail of licensed sport and entertainment posters and frames had breached the Competition Act 1998 (“CA98”) by entering into agreements (or, at least, ‘concerted practices’) to artificially inflate the prices charged for certain products. A formal charge was accepted by the main protagonist, Trod Limited (in administration) (“Trod”) and fines imposed, which became payable by Trod’s administrators as of 13 October 2016.