Letters of support take many forms and are issued for a variety of purposes and can generate a serious tension between the interests of various stakeholders — parents, subsidiaries, boards and auditors.
Financial support for businesses impacted by COVID-19, legislative provisions (such as the statutory relaxation to insolvent trading liability) and general creditor leniency have resulted inhistorically low insolvency appointments during the last two years.
Introduction
Dale G. Higer is an attorney and a long-time Commissioner for the State of Idaho on the Uniform Law Commission. His newest role is Chair of the Commission’s newly-formed Study Committee on Assignments for Benefit of Creditors.
What follows is Mr. Higer’s report on the Commission and on the work of the newly formed Study Committee.
Uniform Law Commission
简介
最近在关于申请罢免清盘人的Shearman & Sterling (a firm) and others v Asia-Pac Infrastructure Development Limited (in creditor’s voluntary liquidation) and others [2022] HKCFI 218一案中，法院在详细考虑提出此项申请所需的资格后驳回申请，裁定申请人欠缺所需资格。
背景
第一被告人（「该公司」）是一间正在进行债权人自愿清盘的公司。第二及第三被告人（分别为「邓先生」及「侯女士」）是该公司的清盘人。该公司在高院民事诉讼2006年第806号（「高院讼案」）是原告人之一，而本案的原告人（「谢尔曼等人」）是高院讼案的被告人。
The Bankruptcy Protector
Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code provides a streamlined process for recognition (a form of comity) of a foreign insolvency proceeding. However, courts are divided as to whether a foreign debtor must satisfy the general definition of “debtor” as that term is used in section 109(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, which requires a debtor seeking bankruptcy relief to reside or have a domicile, a place of business, or property in the United States.
The English High Court case Duneau v Klimt Invest SA & Ors [2022] EWHC 596 (Ch) is perhaps the first decision where a public listed company was wound up under section 122(1)(g) of the UK Insolvency Act 1986 on the just and equitable ground for loss of substratum. The case also considered whether a public listed company can be subject to equitable considerations and constraints such as those which apply in the context of quasi-partnership cases.
Despite a valuation fight, the Senior Lenders primed by Super Senior Debt in RP1 have had their debt written off in full in RP2 without even being given the opportunity to vote on the latter restructuring plan.
The case emphasizes that it is not enough for junior creditors to send letters to the court objecting to the RP and then expect the court to argue their case for them. In the words of Lord Justice Snowden, “they must stop shouting from the spectators’ seats and step up to the plate”.