Consensus remains elusive on the two major questions concerning the application of bankruptcy law in mass tort cases. In the past few months, at least five major decisions have addressed the significant issues of the availability of third-party releases and the two-step bankruptcies. Appeals have been filed or are threatened. In the meantime, the authors of a University of Chicago Law Review article argue that, as a matter of public policy, both should be available with court safeguards.

The original version of this article was first published in the Trilegal Quarterly Roundup.

Key Developments

1. Supreme Court clarifies the scope of adjudicating authority’s power to decide on a financial creditor’s insolvency application when debt and default have been established

Three years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States and its effects are still being felt today. Even though lockdown measures have largely disappeared and many workers have returned to the office, flexible work has become a fixture in the workplace. The shift to remote and more flexible work arrangements have impacted many segments of the economy, perhaps most directly, commercial real estate companies.

根据英国最高法院 2022 年底 Sequana¹ 的判决 ，新西兰最高法院在涉及 Mainzeal Property and Construction Limited²清算财产的长期案件中，对破产区公司董事所承担的义务问题进行了权衡及作出有力贡献。

当世界各地的董事们正努力应对各种宏观经济因素带来的困难和不确定时期时，这些决策为董事们应采取哪些保护自己及公司的方法提供了有用且及时的指导。

这可能意味着听取有关停止交易的建议，尝试签订重组支持协议或任命官员提供协助。在开曼群岛，新的重组支持官员制度提供了一个有用的体系，为董事提供休整期，以便在适当的情况下促进和实施可行的计划。

Mainzeal 的最新决定再次提醒大家，公司董事未能采纳建议和采取适当行动可能会导致严重后果。

Mainzeal 决定

Laurus Group Pty Ltd (admin apptd) v Mitsui & Co. (Australia) Ltd (No 2) [2023] VSC 412

INTRODUCTION AND PROCEEDINGS

Executive Summary

Indonesia Authors: Jeanne E. Donauw and Hans Adiputra Kurniawan 1. KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2023 and Government Regulation No. 20 of 2023: New Merger Filing Regulation and Fees The Indonesian Business Competition Supervisory Commission – Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (“KPPU”) issued KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2023 (“Reg 3 of 2023”) as a new merger filing regulation, replacing, and revoking the previous regulation on the same matter, namely KPPU Regulation No. 3 of 2019 (“Reg 3 of 2019”).

With the on-going shortage of construction workers in the industry and other factors ranging from weather to procurement problems, the threat of project delay is real. When a contract contains a liquidated damages clause for assessing project delays, real financial consequences for contractors can result. Courts have long allowed parties to apportion contractual risks as they deem appropriate especially in the commercial context where the parties are considered to be sophisticated even if their bargaining power is not equal.

As a partner in Irwin Mitchell's Restructuring & Insolvency team, I have witnessed the challenges that businesses in the UK are currently facing. The decline in consumer demand has left many companies scrambling to cut costs and find innovative ways to survive. Recent research conducted by BDO, the accountancy firm, reveals that 57% of medium-sized businesses in the UK see the drop in Britons' spending as one of their biggest hurdles over the next six months.

Передісторія до справи про неплатоспроможність

Як і багато інших, на початку 2008 року клієнт проєкту отримав іпотечний кредит в сумі 150 тис. дол. США (приблизно 750 тис. грн) для купівлі житла. Однак вже восени 2008 року Україна відчула наслідки світової фінансово-економічної кризи, що призвело до нестабільності курсу національної валюти та збільшення кількості проблемних кредитів.