Background
In R (on the application of Palmer) (Appellant) v. Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court and another (Respondents), the Supreme Court held that an administrator appointed under the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) is not an "officer" of the insolvent company under section 194(3) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA).
The judgment of Chief ICC Judge Briggs in Re Zhang Zhenxin (Deceased); Eternity Sky Investments Ltd v The Estate of Zhang Zhenxin (Deceased) and Anor [2023] EWHC 2744 (Ch) is of interest because, as the judge himself remarked, there is little authority on the appointments of interim receivers in cases of individual insolvency; and for that matter there is little on the administration of the estates of deceased insolvents, that being the condition of the debtor in this case.
This week:
On 1 November 2023, the new Luxembourg law of 7 August 2023 on the continuation of businesses and the modernisation of insolvency law (the “New Law”) entered into force. The New Law introduces new safeguard mechanisms designed to promote the continuity and preservation of businesses and the jobs that go with it. It provides for a mix of out-of-court and in-court procedures, including the option for a conciliator, the possibility of amicable agreements and judicial reorganisation procedures, and grants unfortunate but bona fide traders a second chance.
On 1 November 2023, the Supreme Court has overturned the 2021 Divisional Court judgment in R (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court and another to hold that administrators do not fall within the meaning of a "director, manager, secretary or similar officer of the company" under s194(3) the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULCRA 1992).
On 1st November 2023, the new Luxembourg law of 7 August 2023 on the continuation of businesses and modernisation of insolvency law (the "Law") enters into force.
This long-awaited reform implements Directive 2019/1023 to introduce a modern restructuring regime, with out-of-court and court supervised mechanisms to protect companies in distress. The Law is expected to provide more flexible and effective measures for businesses under financial stress and their creditors, making Luxembourg an attractive jurisdiction for restructurings.
The changes proposed seek to address the existing issues and safeguard the interests of stakeholders. The comments on the proposals and the draft regulations may be shared by November 10, 2023.
The sixteen proposals put forward by the Board are as follows: –
No verification of prospective bidders
I. INTRODUCTION
From the West Coast Healthcare Deskis an ongoing series of Holland & Knight Healthcare Blog articles and alerts focused on healthcare industry developments and points of interest in the West Coast healthcare marketplace. Holland & Knight's nationally ranked healthcare practice has been focused on healthcare compliance, transactional, reimbursement and operational trends that have often started in California before spreading nationwide – managed care and various capitated and quality-based reimbursement models being the most obvious examples.
Matthew Czyzyk, Natalie Blanc, Natalie Raine and Emily Ma, Ropes & Gray
This is an extract from the 2024 edition of GRR's Europe, Middle East and Africa Restructuring Review. The whole publication is available here.