Mass tort cases do not usually bankrupt the defendant. But, in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, three of the defendants have so far declared bankruptcy. The litigation involves the claims brought by thousands of cities, counties, tribes, and other plaintiffs, all consolidated into multidistrict litigation in the Northern District of Ohio (the “MDL”). Their damages, caused by the opioid epidemic, total in the trillions of dollars.
On 12 May 2021, the UK Government introduced the snappily titled “Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill”.
Introduction
In Aathar Ah Kong Andrew v OUE Lippo Healthcare Ltd [2021] SGCA 48, the Singapore Court of Appeal has struck out an appeal against a bankruptcy decision, thus bringing to a close the latest chapter in a long-running bankruptcy and voluntary arrangement dispute. The Court's decision highlights the importance of complying with the procedural requirements of bankruptcy proceedings and appeals, including observing the relevant timelines and obtaining the prior sanction of the Official Assignee ("OA").
Following in the footsteps of the New Look CVA challenge judgment (see our blog here) it was not unsurprising that Zacaroli J dismissed all but one of the landlord challenge claims when handing down his judgment in Regis.
Following the landmark decision by Justice Trower in Re DeepOcean 1 UK Ltd,1 Justice Snowden delivered another important judgment on the use of cross-class cram downs as he sanctioned the Virgin Active2 restructuring plans.
On March 30, 2021, the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the Court) made an initial order under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (the CCAA) in respect of EncoreFX Inc. (EncoreFX) one year after the commencement of its bankruptcy proceedings. The decision is unusual in that the applicant for the CCAA initial order was EncoreFX’s trustee in bankruptcy (the Trustee), who also sought to be appointed as monitor of EncoreFX (with enhanced powers). On April 22, 2021, the Court released the reasons for its decision.1
Yesterday, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced that the Government has approved the extension until 31 December 2021 of the period during which the interim measures introduced under the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid-19) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act) (link to announcement here) will apply.
It is generally recognized that a bankruptcy court has the power—either equitable or statutory—to recharacterize a purported debt as equity if the substance of the transaction belies the labels the parties have given it. A ruling handed down by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York provides a textbook example of such a recharacterization. In In re Live Primary, LLC, 2021 WL 772248 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Mar.
United States Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale recently dismissed the National Rifle Association’s Chapter 11 petition as not filed in good faith. The decision leaves the 150-year-old gun-rights organization susceptible to the New York Attorney General’s suit seeking to dissolve it.