In brief
The courts were busy in the second half of 2021 with developments in the space where insolvency law and environmental law overlap.
In Victoria, the Court of Appeal has affirmed the potential for a liquidator to be personally liable, and for there to be a prospective ground to block the disclaimer of contaminated land, where the liquidator has the benefit of a third-party indemnity for environmental exposures.1
This week’s TGIF focuses on The Australian Sawmilling Company Pty Ltd (in liq) v Environment Protection Authority [2021] VSCA 294 in which the Court set aside a disclaimer of onerous property, such that liquidators were held liable under environment protection legislation.
Key Takeaways
Unlike the GFC, which was essentially a liquidity crisis, Australia is likely to face a gradual increase in business insolvencies, rather than the feared ‘insolvency cliff’, as the Federal Government’s COVID-19 stimulus measures are wound down at the end of March.
On 9 April 2018 Linc Energy Ltd (in liquidation) was convicted of causing serious environmental harm at its pilot underground coal gasification facility near Chinchilla, Queensland.
Administrators were appointed to the company on 15 April 2016. On 23 May they were appointed liquidators after creditors resolved that the company be wound up.
This week’s TGIF considers Linc Energy Ltd (in Liq) v Chief Executive Dept of Environment & Heritage Protection [2017] QSC 53, in which the Queensland Supreme Court directed that the liquidators of Linc Energy were not justified in causing it to fail to comply with an environmental protection order
BACKGROUND
2013 will herald some significant changes to the UK legal arena, notably in the corporate area in relation to executive remuneration and narrative reporting, in dispute resolution as the Government's reforms to the civil litigation costs and funding regime are due to be implemented and in the energy, real estate and construction areas where there are major changes to the carbon reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme, further amendments to the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations, the introduction of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill and various amendments to the Building Regula
This is the twenty-ninth in our series of General Counsel Updates which aim to summarise major developments in key areas.
The transition from 2009 to 2010 sees some significant legislative chapters closing, notably the Companies Act 2006, Rome I and II, the Banking Act 2009 and the Lisbon Treaty.
In this edition, now in its 7th year, we review the trends and developments in M&A across a wide range of countries and territories in the Asia Pacific region throughout 2019, and discuss our thoughts on the anticipated market trends for 2020 and beyond.
Asia Pacific M&A in 2019
Key themes across the 2019 Asia Pacific market include:
EU (Withdrawal) Bill may be passed by UK Parliament. Its purpose is to repeal the European Communities Act 1972 and, so far as possible, import EU law that would otherwise fall away into UK law
The Construction (Retention Deposit Schemes) Bill is expected to have its second reading debate