In vielen Branchen kann die Lieferkette eine Vielzahl von Unternehmen und Jurisdiktionen umfassen. Im derzeitigen Wirtschaftsklima ist es nicht ungewöhnlich, dass einzelne Lieferanten innerhalb dieser Lieferkette in finanzielle   Schwierigkeiten   geraten   oder ein Insolvenzverfahren beantragen.

过去三年中，受新冠疫情影响，大量企业面临无法清偿到期债务、资不抵债或者明显缺乏清偿能力的困境，法院受理破产清算案件的数量直线上升。最近，笔者也作为破产管理人的一员参与了一起有限合伙企业的破产清算案件，引发了笔者对于有限合伙企业及其普通合伙人共同承担合伙企业债务过程中破产的先后顺序的思考。本篇文章仅浅论普通合伙人因承担有限合伙企业对外债务的连带责任而被申请破产的情形，其因自身债务而进入破产清算程序的情况暂且不论。

• 案情简介

公司A为有限合伙企业B的唯一普通合伙人，现有B的债权人C要求A对B的对外债务承担连带责任，但A无力偿还，故C向法院申请对A进行破产清算，法院裁定受理并指定笔者所在单位作为A的破产管理人，而笔者在履行管理人职务的过程中，发现C并没有同步申请B破产，且B对外存在或有应收账款，如能悉数收回，且足以偿还对C的债务，则A可以免于被申请破产清算。此外，如A被宣告破产，则B也须及时推选或委任新的普通合伙人，否则B将因仅剩有限合伙人而陷入需要解散的境地。

在此情形下，C仅向法院申请对A进行破产清算是否合理引起了笔者的疑问。

In many industries, the supply chain can involve multiple suppliers and jurisdictions. In the current economic climate, it is not unusual for a supplier within the supply chain to encounter financial distress or even to enter into formal insolvency proceedings. This can have a significant impact on a company if its business depends on a distressed supplier and an alternative or additional supplier cannot be found (and production cannot be brought in house) or an alternative sourcing is not possible for other reasons, like part/raw material approval process, testing, customs etc.

On average, the Supreme Court hears a single bankruptcy case each term. But during the October 2022 term, the Supreme Court issued a remarkable four decisions in bankruptcy cases. These decisions, which are summarized below, address appellate issues relating to sale orders, the discharge of claims obtained by fraud, and sovereign immunity issues in two different contexts.

I. Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code is not a jurisdictional provision that precludes appellate review of asset sale orders.

The Supreme Court has, in a recent decision, sought to narrow the discretion that may be exercised by National Company Law Tribunals in evaluating a financial creditor's insolvency application. The Supreme Court has held that once such a financial creditor has been able to establish debt and default, the tribunal is left with hardly any discretion but to admit such an application. This update examines the impact of the judgment against the backdrop of the Supreme Court's earlier decision in Vidarbha Industries v Axis Bank Limited.

Introduction

The recent judgment in City Gardens Ltd v DOK82 Ltd [2023] EWHC 1149 (Ch) serves as a useful reminder of the extent of, and principles governing, the English court’s jurisdiction to wind up a company on the basis of inability to pay its debts.

Background

City Gardens Limited (C), and DOK82 Ltd (D), had entered into a “memorandum of understanding” (MoU) in relation to a significant debt owed by D to C.

COMMODITIES CASE UPDATE JULY 2023 HFW COMMODITIES CASE UPDATE JULY 2023 We are delighted to present the July 2023 edition of the Commodities Case Update, with a summary of 12 key recent cases relevant to the commodities sector. With a market leading commodities team, we have over 100 lawyers who provide a full service internationally. The group is led by a team of over 25 partners, who are based in all our offices around the world, including in the major trading hubs of London, Paris, Geneva, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney.

“Sophisticated financial titans engaged in a winner-take-all battle. There was a winner and a loser. Such an outcome was not only foreseeable, it is the only correct result. The risk of loss is a check on unrestrained behavior.”

The Court of Appeal in Hunt v Ubhi has confirmed that insolvency practitioners seeking freezing orders are subject to the default requirement of providing an unlimited cross-undertaking in damages.

Amid ongoing economic uncertainty, businesses face growing – and sometimes insurmountable – challenges to remain viable, leading to a marked increase in accelerated or ‘distressed’ sales.

Distressed M&A describes a sale of shares or assets where the business is in financial distress. This includes, for example, companies that are undergoing restructuring or facing insolvency. The sale can be led by the company itself or an officeholder if the company has entered into a formal insolvency process.