Following the UK Supreme Court decision in Sequana¹ at the end of 2022, the New Zealand Supreme Court has now weighed in on the issue of the duties owed by directors of a company in the zone of insolvency in a long-running case involving the liquidation estate of Mainzeal Property and Construction Limited.²

• Introduction
• Background
• Decision

August, 2023 For Private Circulation - Educational & Informational Purpose Only A BRIEFING ON LEGAL MATTERS OF CURRENT INTEREST KEY HIGHLIGHTS * Calcutta High Court: Courts cannot re-appreciate the evidence or substitute its view with that of the arbitrator while considering the issue of enforcement of a foreign award.

The Supreme Court has today released its decision in Yan v Mainzeal Property and Construction Limited (in liquidation) [1] (Mainzeal), upholding the Court of Appeal’s finding that Mainzeal’s directors were liable for insolvent trading and ordering Mainzeal’s directors to pay $39.8 million plus interest, with the liability of three of the four directors capped at $6.6 million plus interest.

MinterEllisonRuddWatts acted for the liquidators in the Mainzeal litigation.

Significance of decision

The long awaited Supreme Court decision on the Mainzeal appeal is out, addressing issues of “fundamental importance to the business community”. The judgment essentially upheld the factual findings of the lower Courts that the Mainzeal directors had breached directors’ duties under the Companies Act 1993, and it provides important clarity of the legal principles - and practical steps - that are relevant to directors of companies facing financial difficulties.

Important learnings

From 1 September 2023, judicial reorganisation proceedings by way of an amicable agreement as well as those with a view to a collective plan will both have a private variant. This will help avoid negative publicity and allowing the debtor to prepare its restructuring in all quietness.

As a reminder, a company confronted with financial difficulties threatening its continuity may file for judicial reorganisation proceedings to get protection against enforcement actions and bankruptcy filings by its creditors.

Seit 9. November 2022 ist das SanInsKG mit (scheinbaren) Erleichterungen im Zusammenhang mit der Insolvenzantragspflicht und dem Prognosezeitraum in Kraft.

Das „Sanierungs- und insolvenzrechtliches Krisenfolgenabmilderungsgesetz“ (SanInsKG) hat die Regeln für die Fortbestehensprognose bei Überschuldung geändert, insbesondere den Prognosezeitraum nach § 19 Abs. 2 InsO bis zum 31. Dezember 2023 von zwölf auf vier Monate verkürzt.

Belgium had accumulated a significant legislative backlog within insolvency law. The European Directive 2019/1023 on restructuring had to be transposed into national law by the member states by 17 July 2022 at the latest. The Belgian government did not submit a draft bill to this effect until 20 March 2023. This draft has since been voted into law and will enter into force on 1 September 2023.

Several amendments are being made to (among others) Book XX of the Belgian Economic Law. The main amendments are briefly discussed below.

In this edition of Gilbert + Tobin's Corporate Advisory Update, we focus on key legal developments over the last month which are particularly relevant to in-house counsel.

The ACCC’s recommended merger reforms: a deeper dive

The ACCC’s recommended reforms have several significant implications for merging parties:

根据英国最高法院 2022 年底 Sequana¹ 的判决 ，新西兰最高法院在涉及 Mainzeal Property and Construction Limited²清算财产的长期案件中，对破产区公司董事所承担的义务问题进行了权衡及作出有力贡献。

当世界各地的董事们正努力应对各种宏观经济因素带来的困难和不确定时期时，这些决策为董事们应采取哪些保护自己及公司的方法提供了有用且及时的指导。

这可能意味着听取有关停止交易的建议，尝试签订重组支持协议或任命官员提供协助。在开曼群岛，新的重组支持官员制度提供了一个有用的体系，为董事提供休整期，以便在适当的情况下促进和实施可行的计划。

Mainzeal 的最新决定再次提醒大家，公司董事未能采纳建议和采取适当行动可能会导致严重后果。

Mainzeal 决定