Der Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) hat mit Urteil vom 18. November 2020 (IV ZR 217/19) entschieden, dass Ansprüche gegen GmbH-Geschäftsführer auf Ersatz von Zahlungen, die nach Insolvenzreife vorgenommen wurden, vom Versicherungsschutz der D&O-Versicherung umfasst sind. Mehrere Oberlandesgerichte hatten dies zuletzt noch anders beurteilt. In der Praxis hatte dies zu einer erheblichen Unsicherheit geführt, nicht zuletzt mit Blick auf die infolge der COVID-19-Pandemie vorübergehend geänderten Insolvenzantragspflichten.
Hintergrund der Entscheidung
Looking back at the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit many companies hard and amplified disruptive trends in various sectors. In addition to other measures to address COVID-19 impact on businesses, Germany has made significant progress toward international best practices for restructuring: StaRUG — known as the German scheme — came into effect on 1 January 2021, as one of the most modern restructuring laws in the world. But how will StaRUG help German companies survive the crisis and what if insolvency is unavoidable?
Durch die Umsetzung der EU Restrukturierungs-Richtlinie soll das deutsche Sanierungs- und Insolvenzrecht modernisiert, effektiver gestaltet und um neue Instrumentarien bereichert werden.
Through implementing the EU Restructuring Directive, German restructuring and insolvency law will be modernized, more effective, and enriched by new instruments.
The Financial Crisis, a difficult market situation and a tense liquidity status have led to remarkable difficulties for mid-sized businesses within the past years. Strategic and financial investors have and continue to utilize these circumstances to acquire interesting distressed companies for comparatively moderate purchase prices.
In order to benefit from these circumstances, investors need to understand how to avoid or minimize the risks of liability related to such acquisitions.
September 2016 CMS_LawTax_Negative_28-100.eps Enforcing Security over Real Estate and Shares across Europe 2 | Enforcing Security over Real Estate and Shares across Europe 3 Introduction 4 Albania 5 Austria 6 Belgium 7 Bulgaria 8 Czech Republic 9 England and Wales 10 France 11 Germany 12 Hungary 13 Italy 14 Luxembourg 15 Montenegro 16 Netherlands 17 Poland 18 Portugal 19 Romania 20 Russia 21 Scotland 22 Serbia 23 Slovakia 24 Slovenia 25 Spain 26 Turkey 27 Ukraine 28 Contacts Contents 19 practice and sector groups working across offices Ranked 2nd most global law firm in the Am Law 2015 Glob
Introduction:
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a provision of German law falls within the scope of Article 4 of the EC Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings, thereby paving the way for a German court to require a director of an English incorporated company to make payments under German law where the company has been placed into insolvency proceedings in Germany.
In a recent landmark cross border decision the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court clarified that general managers cannot rely on their Directors and Officers Liability Insurance cover (D&O) in the event of a claim for repayment under Germany's "wrongful trading" legislation.
Providing cover for the directors and officers of a company or the company itself, D&O insurance provides reimbursement in the event the insured suffers loss as a result of legal action brought for alleged wrongful acts of the directors and officers.
The German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) has taken the opportunity to clarify its position on section 17(2) German Insolvency Act (Insolvenzordnung, InsO). According to sec. 17(2) a debtor is deemed insolvent if he is unable to pay his debts as they fall due (Zahlungsunfähigkeit).
The German Bundestag has recently passed a new law as a result of a long running drive to reform how group insolvencies are to be dealt with in the jurisdiction. The reforms were suspended whilst the European Union formulated the Recast Insolvency Regulation, but, the German legislation has been finalised and the reforms effective from 21 April 2018.