Prior to 1930 if an insured person/company (insured) incurred a liability to a third party (TP) but then became bankrupt/passed into liquidation any monies paid out under the insurance policy was paid to the Trustee/Liquidator for the benefit of ALL creditors.

The Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 (1930 Act) transferred the insured’s rights against the insurer under certain circumstances to the TP who could pursue the insurer against the policy proceeds once the insured’s liability was established. So the policy proceeds may benefit the TP and not all creditors.

Shlosberg v Avonwick Holdings Ltd & Ors [2016] EWHC 1001

Law firm Dechert LLP has been ordered to cease acting for the principal creditor of bankrupt Russian businessman, Mr Shlosberg, because it also acted for the trustees in bankruptcy, and accordingly had had access to documents subject to Mr Shlosberg's legal professional privilege.

Facts

The recent case of Re Ralls Builders Limited has confirmed that in circumstances where the company is heading for liquidation directors cannot escape a wrongful trading claim by ignoring individual creditors. It emphasises the importance of taking the correct legal advice at an early stage.

Facts

Longmeade went into compulsory liquidation. The liquidators were advised that the company had a good claim against BIS. The liquidators has secured third party funding in respect of the claim, which if successful, would double the dividend for creditors. However, 99% by value of the creditors of the company opposed the commencement of an action against BIS. The position of the few remaining creditors was unclear. The liquidators applied to the court for directions as to whether to cause the Longmeade to pursue the claim.

Held 

The Commercial Court recently held that the Defendant, a former majority beneficial owner of the Claimant bank, had acted dishonestly and in breach of duties owed to the Claimant in causing the Claimant to advance monies in eight transactions which had not been repaid or recovered, to a borrower closely connected to the Defendant

Background

First published in the International Arbitration 1/3LY, Issue 7

Insolvency law contains summary processes for dealing with claims and protections against certain proceedings commencing or continuing. There has been some debate, and recent case law, concerning the primacy of these rules over agreements to arbitrate. In the following article, we look at what the current position is under English law and beyond.

General position under English law

Key Points

• Directors should take (and follow) advice from insolvency practitioners as early as possible in distressed situations in order to protect themselves from liability.
• If a company does continue to trade “wrongfully”, the directors must be able to demonstrate that they have taken all steps to reduce losses to individual creditors, as well as creditors as a whole. However, no order should be made unless the deficiency for creditors as a whole is increased in the period of wrongful trading.

The Facts

Does section 127 of the Insolvency Act 1986 void payments made by the insolvent company’s bank after the presentation of a winding-up petition but pursuant to payment instructions issued by the company before presentation of the petition?

The Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 (“TPR”) will finally come into force on 1 August 2016, making it easier for third parties to bring claims against insurers of insolvent companies.  It has taken more than six years, spread over three separate governments and was amended even before it came into force, but TPR will finally replace the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 (the “1930 Act”).

The Background

Directors can be held liable to contribute to company assets if they knew or ought to have known at a point before the commencement of administration or insolvency that there was no reasonable prospect that the company would avoid this process. This is known as wrongful trading (section 214 of the Insolvency Act).