The reform resulting from Order no. 2021-1193 dated September 15, 2021 is applicable to proceedings initiated as of October 1, 2021

French insolvency law is undergoing a far-reaching reform, 7 years after the last major reform that came from Order No. 2014-326 of March 12, 2014. This reform is the result of Order No. 2021-1193 amending Book VI of the French Commercial Code, adopted by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, September 15, 2021 (the Order).

The hits keep coming for famed former plaintiff's attorney Thomas V. Girardi. Several weeks ago, Chief U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez has ensured that famed former plaintiff’s attorney Girardi will no longer be appearing on the record in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, officially disbarring him.

On 29 June 2021, the Court of Appeal of Brussels handed down a decision in proceedings between the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Kazakhstan”), the National Bank of Kazakhstan (“NBK”) and four creditors (the “Creditors”).

In 2013, the Creditors had obtained an arbitral award ordering Kazakhstan to pay an amount of USD 508 million as compensation for damages suffered by the Creditors due to a harassment campaign led by Kazakhstan.

U.S. courts have a long-standing tradition of recognizing or enforcing the laws and court rulings of other nations as an exercise of international "comity." It has been generally understood that recognition of a foreign bankruptcy proceeding under chapter 15 is a prerequisite to a U.S. court enforcing, under the doctrine of comity, an order or judgment entered in a foreign bankruptcy proceeding or a provision in foreign bankruptcy law applicable to a debtor in such a proceeding.

Amirbeaggi as trustee of the bankrupt estate of Hanna v Hanna [2021] FCA 988

Background:

This past week the Federal Court handed down an interesting bankruptcy decision concerning the late lodgement of cross-claims. The respondent in this matter on two separate occasions failed to serve a cross-claim within the allotted time. This was despite being granted an extension. The question for the court was whether should be granted to permit the applicant to serve the cross-claim notwithstanding these delays.

A recent NSWSC decision, In the matter of Sails Corp Pty Ltd [2021], confirmed the problematic task of rebutting a presumption of insolvency. In this matter, the defendant’s presumed insolvency arose from an unsatisfied Creditor’s Statutory Demand. Therefore, the defendant bore the onus of rebutting this presumption and establishing solvency.

Establishing Solvency:

Establishing solvency requires more than a bald assertion.

There have been two recent changes to the insolvency laws in England and Wales relating to winding up petitions1 and Part 1A moratoriums.

Winding up petitions – Relaxation of restrictions

INTRODUCTION

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, temporary provisions were put in place under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 ("CIGA") to allow businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic breathing space from the threat of winding up action. Those restrictions will expire on 30 September 2021.

Kwasi Kwarteng, UK Business and Energy Secretary is reported to have said on 20 September that “My task is to ensure that any energy supplier failures cause the least amount of disruption to consumers”.

Wholesale day-ahead gas prices in the UK are reported to have jumped some 9% on 20 September alone. The rise is as a result of a number of factors including increased demand in Asia, lower supplies of gas from Russia and increase in demand as countries emerge from lockdown restrictions and economies start to pick up once more.