The recent implosion of crypto firm FTX and its affiliates provides a case study for potential crypto exposure under traditional insurance policies. The FTX debacle is described herein is an introduction to a series of four articles on the potential liability exposure and coverage: Silent Crypto for D&O and Corporate Liability Insurance (Part I), Silent Crypto Exposure for Accountants (Part II), Silent Crypto Exposure for Lawyers (Part III), and Crime and Custody Coverage for Crypto Assets (Part IV).

Introduction for Insolvency & Restructuring Case Summaries 2021-2022 It gives us great pleasure to introduce our Insolvency & Restructuring Case Summaries 2021-2022.

This is the first year that we have published a collated version of the Case Summaries in addition to our regular insolvency InFocus updates. The Case Summaries have been produced in response to feedback that this would be a useful resource.

On December 27, 2022, the IRS issued two notices providing key initial guidance for the new excise tax on corporate stock buybacks and the new corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT). Both the excise tax and the CAMT were enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act that Congress passed in August 2022.¹

On June 2, 2022, the Austrian Financial Court ruled on the arm's length nature of a) the liability commission in context with a shareholder loan, b) the Transfer Price of products and c) the crediting of trade receivables (GZ. RV/7102082/2009).

On December 20, 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a notice of request for information (RFI) on the regulation of biotechnology on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

1. はじめに

2022 年 11 月 25 日、株式会社SMBC キャピタル・パートナーズが、本邦最大の鶏卵業者で会社更生手続下にあるイセ食品株式会社の事業支援スポンサーとなることが発表された 。同月 30 日には、裁判所により、同スポンサーの代表者がイセ食品株式会社の事業家管財人に選任され 、本邦最大鶏卵業者の事業再生のための大きな一歩が踏み出されることとなった。

近年の会社更生手続においては、裁判所の監督の下、更生会社の事業支援スポンサーが選定されることは一般的な運用ともいいうるが、本件の会社更生手続は、イセ食品株式会社が自ら会社更生手続開始を申し立てたものではなく、一部の株主及び債   権者による申立てにより開始されたという特異な経過を辿っている。

以下では、申立て債権者のイニシアティブにより、債務者事業を維持し、再生につなげる手法の実例として、本件の経緯を概観することとする。

2.イセ食品グループの会社更生

A crash in the cryptocurrency industry started this past spring, causing a significant number of cryptocurrency exchanges and related entities to seek bankruptcy protection, including the recent filing of one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX. The volatility in the industry continues, with the subsequent filing of the cryptocurrency firm BlockFi and the crypto-mining company Core Scientific.

Crypto Basics

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a bankruptcy court’s judgment in favor of a debtor who sought to avoid a judgment lien under California’s homestead exemption law.

In so ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that, when a judgment lien impairs a debtor’s state-law homestead exemption, the Bankruptcy Code requires courts to determine the exemption to which the debtor would have been entitled in the absence of the lien.

Company directors owe several fiduciary duties, one of which is to act in the best interest of shareholders. But to what extent does that duty to shareholders apply in the context of the financial health of the company? The award-winning commercial and litigation lawyers at ParrisWhittaker are experienced in advising company directors on their duties, including where there are concerns around the lawfulness of paying dividends.

The high-profile Chapter 11 case of the FTX Trading group involves its Japanese affiliates including FTX Japan, which operated a registered cryptocurrency exchange in Japan and has been ordered by the Financial Services Agency of Japan to suspend its business upon the filing for Chapter 11. Recently, a motion was made for entry of orders approving, among other things, the group to sell FTX Japan's business through so-called “363 sale”.