Boom in promissory note market
On 20 July 2018, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf ruled that standard D&O insurances do not cover restitution claims for payments which managing directors of a limited liability company make after the company becomes insolvent. Whereas it is possible to obtain coverage for restitution claims, many older policies do not provide for this. Directors are well advised to check the scope of their insurance coverage.
Background
In a landmark decision, Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court clarified that general managers cannot rely on their D&O insurance cover in the event of claims for repayment by an insolvency administrator under Section 64 German Act on Limited Liability Companies (Case I-4 U 93/16).
In Germany, securitization SPVs, factoring companies and asset based lenders take security over the leased assets owned by the leasing company by way of a security transfer of title. However, in all cases of a leasing company’s insolvency where the leasing company has still possession of the assets, the owner of the security in the leased assets was in the past not seen as being entitled to realise the value of the assets itself.
Insolvenzgeld – ein wichtiges Instrument zur Sanierung von Unternehmen und Erhalt der Mitarbeitermotivation. Wie ist der rechtliche Rahmen?
In its April 2018 decision, the BGH ruled on the question whether the directors of a company that has been granted debtor in possession status by the respective insolvency court can become personally liable for a breach of a duty of care vis-à-vis the creditors like an insolvency administrator. The underlying legal question was the subject of a controversial academic discussion in the past.
Mit Urteil vom 26. April 2018 (IX ZR 238/17) hat der IX. Zivilsenat des Bundesgerichtshofs (BGH) erstmals die in Literatur und Praxis bisher hochumstrittene Frage entschieden, ob Geschäftsleiter einer eigenverwalteten Gesellschaft bei Verletzung der ihnen obliegenden insolvenzspezifischen Pflichten gegenüber Dritten gemäß §§ 60, 61 InsO analog grundsätzlich persönlich haftbar gemacht werden können. Der BGH hat in seinem Urteil eine solche persönliche Haftung angenommen und damit die Haftung von Geschäftsführern und Vorständen in der Eigenverwaltung verschärft.
Die neue Reform des Insolvenzanfechtungsrecht durch den Gesetzgeber löst einige Rechtsfragen des BAG und BGH zugunsten von Arbeitnehmern.
The second in a series on ‘the perfect restructuring’ in an employment law context, this article examines best practice for handling the kick-off with the works council for a business restructure from a German perspective.
By: Markus Janko
Member Firm: Kliemt.Arbeitsrecht