Introduction

Bundesarbeitsgericht vom 7. November 2017 – 1 AZR 186/16

Der Unternehmer bzw. Insolvenzverwalter hat vor Durchführung einer Betriebsänderung im Zusammenhang mit einem Interessenausgleichsversuch grundsätzlich die Einigungsstelle anzurufen.

Sachverhalt

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.  

1. Genussrechte können nur dann als inhaltsgleiche Schuldverschreibungen aus Gesamtemissionen dem Schuldverschreibungsgesetz unterfallen, wenn sie in einer Urkunde verbrieft sind (Genussschein).
2. In einem Prozess über Rechte der Schuldverschreibungsgläubiger aus den Schuldverschreibungen sind diese auch dann Partei des Prozesses, wenn sie einen gemeinsamen Vertreter bestellt haben.
3. Die Vertretungsmacht im Insolvenzverfahren berechtigt den gemeinsamen Vertreter auch ohne vorhergehenden gesonderten Beschluss der Gläubigerversammlung, der Forderungsanmeldung eines anderen Gläu

Amid an increasingly volatile aviation industry pervaded by headline-grabbing failures (think Monarch Airlines and Air Berlin), lessors’ and financiers’ need for effective mechanisms to recover their assets has also grown. While repossessing aircraft is never a desired first option – after all, this does stem the flow of revenues derived from the aircraft’s operation – regrettably it must be resorted to when negotiations with the airline fail.

Background

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).

Für die Einordnung des Nachteilsausgleichs als Masseverbindlichkeit oder als Insolvenzforderung ist der Zeitpunkt der Durchführung der Betriebsänderung entscheidend.

On 21 April 2018, new rules regarding the handling of “group” insolvency proceedings of companies in Germany become effective.

The regulations aim at better coordination between separate insolvency proceedings which must be implemented for every company within a group under German insolvency rulings. Up to now, coordination was quite difficult, due to separate responsibilities of different courts and insolvency administrators.

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.