Introduction

Under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, the Court may order the winding up of a company on a number of grounds, including where the company is unable to pay its debts. In Energy Resource Investment Pte Ltd v International Golf Resorts Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC 134, the Singapore High Court was faced with such a winding up application, and set out the relevant considerations for establishing insolvency on this ground, as well as how such insolvency may be refuted.

There is a sense of "judgment fatigue" when it comes to decisions about the validity of an administrator's appointment or the extension of the administrator's time in office. However, the decision of Deputy ICC Judge Curl QC, in the case of Re E Realisations 2020 Limited, is worth paying attention to.

Summary

The Insolvency Service has released its report on CVAs (the “Report”), which was commissioned in response to the significant concerns raised by the commercial property sector in recent years and the legal challenges launched by landlords against a number of CVAs.

Is the § 363(m) limit on appeal of a sale order “subject to waiver”?

That’s the essential question before the U.S. Supreme Court in MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC, Case No. 21-1270 (certiorari granted June 27, 2022).

A deep circuit split exists on whether the § 363(m) limitation is, (i) on an appellate court’s jurisdiction, or (ii) on remedies an appellate court can provide.[Fn. 1]

引言

近年来，伴随着经济形势与产业政策的变化，融资租赁成为了争议高发领域，并且日益呈现出争议案件数量多、标的金额大等特点。以上海地区为例，根据上海高级人民法院发布的《2020年度上海法院金融商事审判情况通报》，在2020年上海法院受理的一审金融商事案件中，融资租赁合同纠纷的案件数量位居第三，同比上升65.93%，争议标的金额则位居第二，仅次于金融借款合同纠纷。而在诸多争议之中，对于租赁物所有权的保护始终是多年以来困扰我国融资租赁从业者、司法裁判者甚至是立法者的一大难题。[1]

本篇中，我们将结合过往在融资租赁业务领域的执业经验，从程序及实体两个角度，分别梳理《中华人民共和国民法典》（以下简称“《民法典》”）生效前的存量项目中，出租人在租赁物被承租人擅自处分后可能面临的“困局”及“破局”进路。而在下篇中，我们将基于后《民法典》时代法律条文与配套制度的更迭，进一步对融资租赁行业实践的变化作出解读与研判。

一、 “困局”：租赁物被承租人擅自处分，出租人的物权保障岌岌可危

The company voluntary arrangement (CVA) is an insolvency process that has raised significant concern amongst commercial property owners in recent years about their use by tenant companies to change lease terms, write off arrears and recalculate future rental liabilities. Some property owners feel that they have been unfairly targeted by CVAs, particularly in the retail and casual dining sectors, to the benefit of other creditors.

This panel discussion at INSOL London 2022, moderated by Debra Dandeneau, Chair of the Global Restructuring & Insolvency Group at Baker McKenzie, explored how rescue financing works in different parts of the globe and provided insights on some issues that alternative capital providers typically face. The panellists also brought a wide variety of experience and views to creating an ideal system that promotes restructuring and rescue financing.

Some of the key takeaways and insights were:

Experts and non-experts alike predicted a wave of bankruptcies and insolvencies following the business disruption caused by Covid-19 in 2021. However, new filings globally were much lower than expected following historic levels of government support and easy access to cheap liquidity in the capital markets. Despite this, we expect new commercial filings to pick back up as government support around the world abates.

Bankruptcies and insolvencies will rebound in 2022

US

On June 29, 2022, New York City-based Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Inc. (the “Club”), a non-profit aimed to save and enhance the lives of underserved boys and girls through after school programming and youth development services, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 22-10910).

The deepening crisis of debtor honesty means that today, more than ever, creditors face the risk that debtors will not only fail to pay their debts voluntarily, but will hinder enforcement by transferring assets to third parties. In such situations, a fraudulent transfer claim against the third party (sometimes called a “Pauline action”), known and applied in legal systems of many countries around the world, comes to the creditor’s rescue.

Fraudulent transfer claim against a third party: how it works