In contrast with a majority of bankruptcy courts that routinely dismiss cannabis-related cases for perceived violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in the recent opinionIn re Hacienda, No. 2:22-BK-15163-NB, (Bankr. C.D. Cal. July 11, 2023), refused to conform to the same historical standard. Instead, the Bankruptcy Court struck down the U.S. trustee’s motion to dismiss not once but twice in favor of confirming a marijuana business’ Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

Background

If an employer intends to make 20 or more employees redundant, at one establishment, within a 90-day period, they must notify the Secretary of State at least 30 days before the first dismissal, as per Section 193(2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“TULRCA”). Failure to adhere to this requirement is a criminal offence. This legislation has been of great concern to insolvency practitioners who are often dealing with companies in a precarious position and do not have the luxury of time to comply with Section 193(2) TULRCA.

De Hoge Raad heeft zich uitgelaten over de vraag in hoeverre er rekening moet worden gehouden met de draagkracht van een rechtspersoon bij het opleggen van een boete. De zaak waarin deze vraag speelde, gaat over een bedrijf dat is veroordeeld wegens het meermalen medeplegen van valsheid in geschrifte. In hoger beroep heeft het Openbaar Ministerie een boete gevorderd van 135.000 euro.

On 1 November 2023, the Supreme Court has overturned the 2021 Divisional Court judgment in R (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court and another to hold that administrators do not fall within the meaning of a "director, manager, secretary or similar officer of the company" under s194(3) the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULCRA 1992).

This ideal is floating around:

• upon removal of a Subchapter V debtor from possession, for fraud or other cause,
• the Subchapter V trustee has no expanded right, power, function or duty beyond operating debtor’s business (the “Ideal”).

This Ideal is both:

• contrary to unambiguous language of the Bankruptcy Code, as a matter of law; and
• in Never-Never Land, as a matter of practice.

I’ll try to explain.

This is a truism:

In 2018, Singapore enacted the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act (IRDA 2018), which streamlined its debt restructuring regime by consolidating provisions previously set out in various statutes into a piece of omnibus legislation.

Among other developments, the IRDA 2018 built upon existing provisions relating to pre-packed schemes of arrangement (i.e. pre-packed schemes) and enhanced pre-packed schemes as a viable tool in Singapore’s arsenal of debt restructuring mechanisms.

The Supreme Court judgment in the case of R (on the application of Palmer) (Appellant) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court and another (Respondents) was handed down on 1 November 2023.

Is a court order necessary for security interests granted after the appointment of external administrators? Perhaps not.

The Insolvency Service (IS), acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, commenced disqualification proceedings against five former non-executive directors (NEDs) of Carillion plc in January 2021, following the compulsory liquidation of the Carillion Group in January 2018. Last month on the eve of trial, the IS discontinued its disqualification proceedings against the NEDs.

On 19 July 2023, the parliament of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) passed bill no. 6539A into law (the New Insolvency Law), marking a significant milestone in the movement to modernise and enhance the competitiveness of Luxembourg’s insolvency framework. The bill has been under discussion for a number of years and aims to curtail the use of bankruptcy as an insolvency solution in favour of the preemptive preservation or reorganisation of financially distressed companies.