What steps should directors take when dealing with challenges to their company's solvency? We provide a high-level guide to the legal framework, looking at directors' general duties in an insolvency context and how the safe harbour defence to insolvent trading applies.
What suggests a company may be financially distressed? What are directors' legal obligations? At what point should they seek advice?
Our guide explains the law, to help directors understand what they need to do.
Directors' general duties in an insolvency context
Key takeaways for directors
A significant decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom was released last week, BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA and others, confirming the existence of a duty owed to the company by its directors to consider the interests of the company's creditors when the company becomes insolvent or approaches insolvency.
As expressed by the Supreme Court, the so-called "creditor duty" reflects a sliding scale:
In this alert, we review an important UK Supreme Court decision, which confirms that the fiduciary duties of directors to act in good faith in the interests of the company should, where insolvency[1] is imminent or insolvent liquidation or administration is probable, be interpreted as including the interests of its creditors.
The High Court has recently held that the appointment of administrators by a sole director of a company with unamended Model Articles was valid.
Background
The document allegedly appointing the administrators of the company was a standard set of board minutes, reportedly chaired by a man and recording that a quorum was present. In fact, there was no meeting, and the decision was taken alone by the sole female director.
What is the so-called "creditor duty"?
This is the duty, introduced into English common law by the leading case of West Mercia Safetywear v Dodd1 in 1988, of company directors to consider, or act in accordance with, the interests of the company's creditors when the company becomes insolvent, or when it approaches, or is at real risk of insolvency.
Background
The recent decision of the UK Supreme Court in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SAV & Ors [2022] UKSC 25 has considered the nature of the so-called “creditor duty” and whether directors are required to take into account the interests of creditors when the company is “insolvent, bordering on insolvency, or that an insolvent liquidation or administration is probable.”
The Sequana decision also provides guidance about when the so-called “creditor duty” is engaged.
Background
商事合同中通常会订有合同解除条款，比如满足约定条件或情形下，一方得以解除合同的单方解除条款。单方解除条款系商事主体在一定情形下为脱离合同而预先设置的退出机制，它保证了商事主体的意思自治，同时避免了各方受到已无价值的合同关系的拖累。近几年来，受经济大环境的影响，不少商事主体的经营遭遇困难，破产成为企业面临的高概率情形。破产不仅会影响到破产企业本身，亦会影响与破产企业签署商业合同的其他主体，例如，在《企业破产法》（“《破产法》”）第十八条的规定下，前述单方解除权的行使就会受到一定限制。在本文中，我们将提示和阐释该限制，并提出相应的解决方案与风险防范措施。
一、合同约定解除权
一份完整的合同通常会约定合同解除的条款，通常包括双方协商一致解除合同，以及约定条件下一方单方解除合同。关于单方解除合同条款，一般会有类似以下的约定：
“当一方进入破产程序、破产重整、清盘、资不抵债或其它类似的法律程序时，另一方有权立即书面通知对方解除合同。”
Welcome to the eighth edition of our quarterly disputes newsletter, which covers key developments in the dispute resolution world over the last three months or so.
In a new ruling, the UK Supreme Court concluded that the rule applies only when a company is "insolvent or bordering on insolvency".
On 5 October 2022, the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in BTI 2014 LLC v. Sequana SA and others (Sequana)1. The case required the court to reconcile differing judicial pronouncements of the "creditors' interest rule" (the Rule) and consider the following questions:
The United Kingdom Supreme Court has just released an important insolvency judgment in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA [2022] UKSC 25 (Sequana), which concerns when and the extent to which directors of a company must consider the interests of creditors.