Key Point

In certain circumstances, a purchaser’s deposit may constitute an equitable lien upon the liquidation of the seller.

The Facts

An application under s112 IA 1986 was made by the joint liquidators of Alpha (Student) Nottingham Ltd to determine whether the purchasers of unbuilt flats had the benefit of equitable liens, and therefore ranked as secured creditors in the liquidation.

The Facts

Three former managers of a Russian company sought security for costs from its liquidator in respect of hearings to set aside a recognition order obtained by the liquidator pursuant to the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 (the CBIR) and for documents pursuant to Section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The Decision

What is a freezing order?

The purpose of a freezing order is to preserve the defendant's assets until judgment can be enforced. It operates by granting an injunction prohibiting the defendant (or anyone on his behalf) from disposing of identified assets. Legally, it does not operate as security over the assets.

Taylor v Van Dutch Marine Holding Ltd

The Supreme Court's decision in Lehman Waterfall I was handed down this morning. DLA Piper represents one of the successful appellants, Lehman Brothers Limited (in administration) (LBL).

The court was asked to consider certain issues relating to distributions in the estate of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (LBIE), an unlimited company in administration. Such issues arose due to a substantial anticipated surplus in LBIE and sought to resolve particular lacunas in UK insolvency legislation.

There have been a number of cases in recent years in which a party has sought to utilise the provisions of the CPR in order to obtain information on the opposing party's insurance arrangements, rather than waiting for that party to go insolvent in order to use the procedures provided by the Third Parties Rights Act 1930 or 2010. The recent case of Peel Port Shareholder Finance Co v Dornoch Ltd [2017] EWHC 876 (TCC) looks at this again in light of the discretion which Judges have under CPR31.16 for applications for pre-action disclosure and attempts to shut the door on such actions.

The Court of Appeal, in the case of Grant & Another v Baker & Another [2016] EWCH 1782 (Ch), has held that a judge had been wrong to postpone an order for possession and sale of a matrimonial home indefinitely due to the postponement being incompatible with the underlying purpose of bankruptcy legislation.

Background

Today, thanks to the high-cost of current court fees, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face the problem of not getting paid by a customer and then, subsequently, not being able to go to court to get paid.

De Le Cuona v Big Apple Marketing Ltd, Chancery Division, 12 April 2017 

Easement to park; illusory; true construction of a deed

Background

This was an appeal by Dr Mohammed Abdulla (the “Appellant”), the husband of Mrs Sarah Amin (the “Bankrupt”), against the decision at first instance in favour of (1) Mr Andrew John Whelan (2) Mr Walter Terence Weir (3) Mr David Ansell and (4) the Bankrupt (together the “Respondents”). The pertinent facts are:

• Mr Whelan was the trustee in bankruptcy for Mrs Amin (the “Trustee”).

Court refuses application for pre-action disclosure of insurance policy

The High Court has refused an application for pre-action disclosure of the public liability insurance policy of a company that, if litigation were pursued against it, was likely to become insolvent.

Background