The Court of Appeal has recently considered the status of contingent assets within the balance sheet test for insolvency in the context of a company’s inability to pay its debts. Under Section 123 Insolvency Act 1986, a company is deemed unable to pay its debts if its assets are less than its liabilities including contingent liabilities but nothing is said about the status of contingent assets.

Goldcrest Distribution Ltd v (1) Charles Joseph McCole (2) Mary Orr McCole (3) Jeremy Willmont (Trustee in Bankruptcy of Charles Joseph McCole)

This case concerned the Claimant’s conduct in its application for relief from sanction following a successful default judgment hearing and in the litigation process more generally. The Claimant applied to set aside a default judgment entered against it by the Second Defendant after the Claimant failed to file a defence to a counterclaim.

Background

The Court of Appeal’s decision in the case of Heis v MF Global highlights the importance of documenting just who has responsibility for contributing to a defined benefit pension scheme.

EIS AND OTHERS V MF GLOBAL UK SERVICES LTD (IN ADMINISTRATION) [2016] EWCA CIV 569, [2016] ALL ER (D) 125 (JUN)

The UK Commercial Court has dismissed the Claimant's application for a stay under Article 28 of the Judgments Regulation.

The Court of Appeal has now confirmed that a bankrupt’s undrawn pension entitlement does not fall to be included within the assessment of his income “to which he from time to time becomes entitled” for the purposes of an income payments order application (IPO) pursuant to section 310 of the Insolvency Act IA86. Horton v Henry [2016] EWCA Civ 989.

Lenders contemplating potential claims against insurers of insolvent professionals will welcome the fact that the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 (2010 Act) is to finally come into force from 1 August 2016, having been updated by the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Regulations 2016.

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

Litigation

Lender not obliged to advise borrower about onerous term

In Finch and another v Lloyds TSB Bank Plc and others,  the High Court considered whether a lender had a duty to advise a borrower about a clause in its loan agreement making it liable for the bank's hedging break costs if the borrower chose to repay a fixed rate loan early.

It is estimated that there were almost 40,000 Protected Trust Deeds (“PTD”) entered into between 2005 and 2010. Similar to an IVA, a PTD is a voluntary arrangement in which the debtor conveys his estate to an insolvency practitioner (“the Trustee”) to be held on trust for the benefit of creditors. A large number of those who enter into a PTD do so because of borrowing that they have incurred on credit cards.

Key points

• Court does not have jurisdiction to direct detailed assessment of fees agreed by administrators on application of liquidator
• Administrators can agree solicitors’ fees for work carried out during the administration after they cease holding office
• The court has no inherent jurisdiction to direct a detailed assessment

The facts