This note updates a series of Tanner De Witt articles on the interaction between dispute resolution clauses and the Court’s insolvency jurisdiction. The previous articles are:
A first in the UK – a restructuring plan under Part 26A to the Companies Act 2006 (Restructuring Plan) has been proposed by a project company in a private finance initiative (PFI) project after a convening hearing was held in the High Court in late May.
The Restructuring Plan seeks to compromise both current and future liabilities arising from a PFI project agreement with an NHS Trust. The hearing to sanction the plan will now be held in July.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion is Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc., Case No. 22-1079, Decided June 6, 2024.
Opinion’s Q & A
The Truck Insurance question is this:
- Whether an insurer with financial responsibility for a bankruptcy claim is a “party in interest” under § 1109(b)?
The Supreme Court’s answer is this:
On 29 April 2024, the Italian Supreme Court issued its judgment in case No. 11357, ruling on the right of usufruct on the quotas of a limited liability company in voluntary liquidation.
In this alert, we consider the implications from the recent High Court judgment finding two former directors of BHS liable for various heads of wrongdoing, including wrongful trading and "misfeasant trading".
What Directors need to know
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that the anti-modification provision in the federal Bankruptcy Code applies to loans secured by mixed-use real properties, such as the large parcel at issue here which functioned both for commercial use and as the debtor’s principal residence.
A copy of the opinion in Lee v. U.S. Bank National Association is available at: Link to Opinion.
Regularly the news media reports that a fashion business is in difficulty or is about to, or has gone into, administration. But what is the purpose of administration? What does an Administrator do? Most importantly how should suppliers deal with an Administrator? And what does administration mean for a company’s creditors?
Purpose
With the mass of reports, reviews and consultations that have already occurred, there is no lack of critiques, complaints and proposed solutions. The risk is that these will (once again) be cherrypicked for fixes, rather than form the basis for a comprehensive review.
It has been 33 years since the "recession we had to have" in 1991. Fears that Australia would enter a technical recession during 2023 didn’t eventuate.
In the recent decision of Re PBS Building (Qld) Pty Ltd [2024] QSC 108, the Supreme Court of Queensland considered for the first time the operation of the State’s new project and retention trust account regime in the context of an insolvency. The decision provides useful guidance to insolvency practitioners and subcontractors as to their rights in relation to trust accounts established by an insolvent head contractor.
On June 19, 2024, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) released a discussion paper proposing to bring in significant amendments to the IBBI (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Process) Regulations, 2016 (CIRP Regulations), aiming to streamline the process, enhance its effectiveness and reduce delays.[1] It complements the plan, unveiled earlier this month, to reduce the compliance burden on insolvency professionals.