In Hunt v Singh, the Court referred to the Supreme Court's landmark decision in BTI v Sequana (see our alert) in deciding when the directors' duty to creditors arose.

Background

Marylebone Warwick Balfour Management Limited (the Company), entered a tax avoidance scheme between 2002 and 2010 which the directors, on professional advice, believed to be valid.

Where a creditor believes that a debtor is insolvent, any “third-party application” that it makes for the insolvency of the debtor must be well substantiated.

Decision

The District Court of Hamburg recently considered an application for insolvency on grounds of illiquidity due to default in social security contributions.

A landmark decision of the German Federal Court (13 June 2006 – IX ZB 238/05) held that the illiquidity of a company could be assumed where it was in default for more than six months of social security contributions.

一、背景介绍

本案1中的被告、破产债务人美国航运公司（United States Lines Inc.，以下简称 USL）在世界各地长期经营庞大的海运业务。公司在美国特拉华州注册成立，后将业务拓展到英国，控股公司为在纽约注册的麦克莱恩工业公司（McLean Industries Inc.）。1986年，USL根据《美国破产法》第11章的规定，于11月24日提出破产申请。同日，美国纽约南区的地方破产法庭（以下简称美国破产法庭）的布施曼（Buschman）法官作出临时禁令并指定债务人托管人。USL的申请内容显示：公司资产共计12.5亿美元，总债务为12.72亿美元，负债金额超过资产的102%。而在英国，其欠下的总债务（已经清算的债务）达到243.4万英镑（包括拖欠原告的债务），资产约为72万英镑，债务超过资产的3倍，严重资不抵债。鉴于此，USL根据《美国破产法》第11章的规定进行重整，并计划完全关闭公司在英国和欧洲的运营。

In Canada, there is a relative paucity of case law – especially from appellate courts – on substantive consolidation, which is the treatment of multiple debtor companies as a single entity with one pool of assets out of which claims of creditors of all of the debtor companies are satisfied. In White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC v.

In In re Nine West LBO Securities Litigation (Case No. 20-2941) (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 4, 2020), a federal district court denied in part a motion to dismiss claims brought by the Nine West liquidating trustee against former directors (the "Defendants") of The Jones Group, Inc. (the "Company"), Nine West's predecessor, for, among other things, (i) breaches of their fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, and (ii) aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duties. The litigation arises from the 2014 LBO of the Company by a private equity sponsor ("Buyer").

Elon Musk recently said he has a "super bad feeling" about the economy, pithily declaring what most financial commentators have been predicting in more technical terms.

In the recent decision of Paragon Offshore, No. 16-10386 (CSS), 2021 (Bankr. D. Del. June 28, 2021), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the court) addressed the issue of whether the Office of the United States Trustee (OUST) could collect its quarterly fees against assets that were previously transferred to a litigation trust (the litigation trust) free and clear of any and all claims, liens and other encumbrances pursuant to a confirmed plan of liquidation.

In a recent decision, Anchorage Capital Master Offshore Ltd v Sparkes [2023] NSWCA 88, lenders to the Arrium Group, a company that collapsed, have lost their appeal regarding the personal liability of the Chief Financial Officer and Group Treasurer. The NSW Supreme Court had previously dismissed the lenders' claims, and the Court of Appeal has now affirmed that decision.

In the case of Anchorage Capital Master Offshore Ltd v Sparkes (No 3); Bank of Communications Co Ltd v Sparkes (No 2) [2021] NSWSC 1025 (Anchorage v Sparkes), the Supreme Court of NSW considered the obligations of company officers to sophisticated commercial lending entities, and whether company officers could be personally liable for making misleading statements.

Significance

On Monday, March 10, 2014, the companies that own and operate the Sbarro pizza chain, Sbarro LLC and 33 affiliates, filed for bankruptcy reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code.  The Sbarro companies operate 217 restaurants in the U.S. and there are 582 franchised restaurants, 176 in the U.S. and 406 at international locations.