Creditors can often confuse (i) the outlawed practice of “phoenixing” with (ii) pre-pack administrations. The former is an abuse of the privilege of limited liability through (often repeatedly) liquidating a company laden with debts only to emerge shortly after under the guise of a new limited company, debt free, effectively carrying on the exact same business with the same name, premises and people.

The Ratings (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill, which is currently being considered in the House of Lords, contains significant implications for directors of dissolved companies.

The key provisions of the Bill, which if passed is likely to become law in late 2021 or early 2022 and importantly expressly provide that it will have retrospective effect, are that the Insolvency Service will be able to:

In a recent judgment, the English Court of Appeal gives guidance on when a non-party costs order will be made against directors or shareholders of an insolvent company engaged in litigation. The judgment will be of interest to all involved in insolvency based litigation.

A snap shot of the courts’ jurisdiction to make costs orders against non-parties

The case of Triple Point Technology Inc (Triple Point) v PTT Public Company Ltd (PTT) [2021] UKSC 29 has prompted considerable discussion in the construction industry.

Introduction

The UK Supreme Court has today handed down a significant and highly anticipated decision on the interpretation of liquidated damages clauses.

People get divorced for all sorts of reasons. What if the main reason for a divorce is to put assets beyond the reach of creditors? A quick divorce giving assets to the soon-to-be-ex spouse, followed by a declaration of bankruptcy can look incredibly suspicious, but if there’s a Court order granting the divorce and division of assets what can be done about it?

Transfer at an undervalue

In this issue:

Welcome to our corporate and commercial disputes update, a new bi-annual publication in which we summarise some of the most significant cases over the last six months or so in the corporate and commercial dispute resolution market:

Following on from part 1 of our predictions for 2021 for the UK restructuring market part 2 looks at CVAs, directors duties and HMRC and insolvencies.

We had hoped to cover off everything in 2 parts, but 2021 looks to be a busy year so we will publish the final part of this series next week.

Company Voluntary Arrangements – the continued evolution of the CVA

INSURANCE AND REINSURANCE DISPUTES

2020 REVIEW

The contents of this publication are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication.

INSURANCE AND REINSURANCE DISPUTES 2020 REVIEW

Contents

Preface

At the start of 2020, we considered what changes the UK restructuring and insolvency market might expect to see during the year – however no one could sensibly have predicted the significant and far reaching impact of COVID-19.

In part 1 of our blog, we look back at 2020 and look forward to what the UK restructuring market can expect in 2021 considering the new Insolvency Laws, expected Rule changes, pre-pack sales and practice and procedural points.

Insolvency Laws – all change in 2020, what about 2021?