FSA has published the statement it made to the US bankruptcy court examiner on the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. It has published the statement in the public interest, although it contains information that would otherwise have been confidential. The statement explains FSA’s actions and conversations in respect of the potential purchase by Barclays of the company in September 2008.

Implementation of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc (Scotland) Act 2007 continues apace. 22 April 2009 saw the most recent instalment with the passing of Commencement Order NO.4 including Parts 5 and 10 of the Act: namely the parts relating to inhibition, arrestments in execution and actions of furthcoming.

Part 5 - Inhibition

The following is a broad overview of the duties and liabilities of directors when their company is in financial difficulties. It is a general guide only and there will be variations according to the specific laws in each jurisdiction.  

We are all very used to (and very bored of) the on-going debate of what actually constitutes “the media” or “legitimate news.” In most instances, this sort of debate pits exclusive, Columbia-educated, “proper” journalists against those who have large on-line followings and eschew any association with a Dickensian-era newspaper.

In a recent case, BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA & others, the High Court was asked to consider the circumstances in which the directors of a company are required to consider the interests of creditors and the extent to which the payment of a dividend by a company can be susceptible to challenge under section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986).

Shlosberg v Avonwick Holdings Ltd & Ors [2016] EWHC 1001

Law firm Dechert LLP has been ordered to cease acting for the principal creditor of bankrupt Russian businessman, Mr Shlosberg, because it also acted for the trustees in bankruptcy, and accordingly had had access to documents subject to Mr Shlosberg's legal professional privilege.

Facts

The Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules recently issued a report to the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure on amendments and new rules that were published for comment the previous year. The Advisory Committee’s report recommends substantial revisions to the amendments that were initially proposed to Bankruptcy Rule 2019. The revisions are responsive to the numerous comments, suggestions and objections made by hedge funds, institutional investors and other distressed debt investors.

Background

Two items of interest in the on-going saga of intellectual property enforcement against bankrupt Collezione Europa and its principals, Paul and Leonard Frankel.

In re Leslie Controls, Inc., No. 10-12199 (Bankr. D. Del. Sept. 21, 2010), involved a very common scenario. A company in financial difficulty sought to negotiate a consensual restructuring with an ad hoc committee and, in that context, disclosed various confidential analyses. In this particular case, the company had asbestos exposure, the ad hoc committee represented asbestos plaintiffs, and the shared information included a memorandum and numerous e-mails concerning potential insurance recoveries under various bankruptcy scenarios.

The trading rules and conventions of the loan market are well known to its participants. Similarly, the laws and practices governing equity securities trading in the U.S. are quite familiar to securities market professionals. The opportunity for confusion may arise, however, when these two markets quickly converge—for example, when the loans of a reorganized borrower are converted into or satisfied by the issuance of equity securities.