The interplay between arbitration and insolvency proceedings has been a recurring theme across common law jurisdictions in recent months. It is therefore timely to consider the conflict between parties' contractual rights to arbitrate and their statutory rights to present a winding up petition and how a balance can be struck when determining which should prevail.
Introduction
On 23 March 2021, the 2011 sale of the One Blackfriars development site in London by administrators was cleared of misfeasance by the High Court, in Re One Blackfriars Ltd [2021] EWHC 684 (Ch).
In a £250 million claim, the company's liquidators had alleged that the former administrators had breached their duties by failing to act independently of the banking syndicate which appointed them, failing to properly assess the value of the site, and selling the site at an undervalue.
Here, we recap the facts of the case and outline the key takeaways to consider.
Over the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic upended many industries. While the construction industry has largely been able to operate throughout the pandemic, albeit with increased and ever-changing restrictions on jobsites, one consequence of these disruptions may be an increase in construction-related bankruptcy filings. Already in 2021, there have been over 70 construction-related bankruptcy filings across the country. For many property owners and real estate developers, these filings create a nightmare scenario where work may slow or even stop entirely.
On 3 May 2021, the Treasurer announced that the Morrison government is pursuing further measures to improve Australia’s insolvency framework for both small and large businesses.
As part of the 2020–21 budget, the government announced the most significant reforms to Australia’s insolvency framework in 30 years. These reforms, which commenced on 1 January 2021, created new simplified liquidation and debt restructuring processes for small companies, and has provided directors with the control and flexibility they need to either restructure their business or wind down operations.
Yeni Gelişme
In a first, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in the Arcapita Bank case had to decide whether Shari’a compliant investment agreements, providing for Murabaha and Wakala transactions, qualify for the safe harbor protections provided in the bankruptcy code for securities contracts, forwards and swaps. The court held that they do not. Since the opinion runs about 100 pages long, we attempt to distill some very basic facts concerning Shari’a compliant transactions and point to important holdings made by the court.
Shari’a Compliant Transactions
Recent development
Asbestos bankruptcy trusts remain a topic frequently monitored and reported on Asbestos Case Tracker. As the first quarter of 2021 comes to a close, we have seen a number of changes to 11 trusts that will impact the amount of compensation available to individuals claiming asbestos-related injuries.
On 24 September 2020, the Morrison government announced reforms to Australia’s insolvency framework to better support Australian small businesses, their creditors and employees, in particular businesses facing financial difficulties following the COVID-19 pandemic.