The current decline in oil prices, which continues to show no signs of a long-term reversal, is having unexpected and unwanted consequences, many of which may turn into long-lasting troubles for the oil and gas industry, especially for its investors.

In a case of first impression, DLA Piper argued before the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware that a consent provision in a Delaware LLC operating agreement effectively granting a creditor a veto right over a debtor’s decision to file for bankruptcy was void because it was contrary to federal public policy.

Lenders contemplating potential claims against insurers of insolvent professionals will welcome the fact that the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 (2010 Act) is to finally come into force from 1 August 2016, having been updated by the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Regulations 2016.

The Ministry of Justice is consulting on a revised draft Pre-action Protocol for Debt Claims (Debt Protocol) after an earlier version was lambasted by representatives of the credit industry as being totally disproportionate. The new version attempts to strike a more proportionate balance between the needs of creditors, debtors and debt advisors.

According to the UK Gift Card & Voucher Association, in 2014 the gift card and voucher market was worth £5.4 billion in the UK and $124 billion in the US. 

Gift cards can confer numerous benefits on the retailer, including promotion, working capital and additional profit from up-spend, and are popular with consumers as a method of paying for goods and services in advance of receiving them. 

Protecting your business from your customer’s insolvency

In the second article in our series on risk and opportunity in the fashion retail sector, Rob Russell and Peter Manley assess one of the most prominent areas of risk for suppliers − the insolvency of a trade customer/ retailer.

UK LEGAL HIGHLIGHTS 2014 AND BEYOND Welcome to our 2014 edition of UK Legal Highlights. This publication is a reminder of some of the most important and significant developments DLA Piper reported in 2014, along with some forthcoming developments to look out for in 2015 and beyond.

In the Q3 2014 edition of Global Insight, we discussed the merits of bankruptcy sales for distressed hospitals in the United States. In many ways, the challenges facing healthcare companies in America have been mirrored in the UK care home sector in recent years. Unlike the US, the majority of health service provision in the UK is via the publicly funded National Health Service. An exception exists however in the provision of residential care to the elderly which has seen large scale private sector involvement.

CONSIDERABLE RISKS FOR PRIVATE INVESTORS

Mr Justice Hildyard has handed down his first instance decision on the second set of schemes of arrangement proposed by the Apcoa group.

Following on from our article on “Understanding and managing the risks of an insolvent acquisition” in the Q2 2014 edition of Global Insight, in this third article in our series of risks and opportunities in the fashion retail sector we assess one of the most prominent areas of risk for suppliers - the insolvency of a trade customer/retailer.