The Madrid and Barcelona Provincial Courts took different positions on the classification of a creditor’s credit in the insolvency of the joint and several guarantor: the former classed it as an insolvency credit; the latter classed it as a contingent claim.

JUDGEMENTS NO. 541/2012, OF OCTOBER 23, 2012, BY THE ZARAGOZA BRANCH OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, NOS. 413/2011, OF DECEMBER 19, AND 18/2012, OF JANUARY 18, BY THE BURGOS BRANCH OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, NO. 132/2012, OF APRIL 10, BY THE RULING OF THE VALENCIA BRANCH OF THE COURT OF APPEAL, AND NOS. 210/2012 AND 211/2012, BOTH OF JULY 20, BY THE ALICANTE COMMERCIAL COURT

A creditors’ composition agreement has been approved for Pescanova, and section six of  the insolvency proceedings (categorisation of the  insolvency) has not been opened, as  there is  a type of creditor whose  moratorium is less than three years and  whose debt  relief is below one third.

The ruling called for rescission of previously agreed valuations to divide a company’s assets into two portions in a process for total spin-off in favour of two pre-existing companies. One of the beneficiaries was ordered to refund the other beneficiary company (undergoing insolvency proceedings) the excess valuation the former h ad received during the total spin-off.

Compensation of a debt made after the debtor’s bankruptcy declaration via the appropriation of securities pledged by virtue of a financial guarantee, is admitted.

The validity of a transaction assessed as “compensation” that was carried out after the bankruptcy declaration of the company in debt was questioned before the Supreme Court. The credit entity applied the value obtained from the reimbursement of an investment fund that had been pledged to secure a credit policy to reduce the debt.

SUPREME COURT RULING OF APRIL 9, 2014, NO. 175/2014: IN THE RESCISSION OF THE  ASSIGNMENT IN PAYMENT AGREEMENT (DACIÓN EN PAGO), THE CREDIT OF THE NONDEFAULTING PARTY  IS AN  INSOLVENCY CLAIM AND NOT AGAINST THE INSOLVENCY ESTATE

The assignment in payment (dación en pago) of debt is an act extinguishing obligations and not a bilateral agreement. Therefore, its rescission leads to an insolvency claim for  the non-defaulting party.

Credits arising under interest rate swap agreements are (i) insolvency credits, as they do not fulfil the requisite of functional synallagma dependent on reciprocal obligations, and (ii) subordinate, because they involve payment of credits arising due to interest.

La caducidad del cargo de administrador se produce ope legis, sin necesidad de que acceda al Registro Mercantil ningún documento que lo constate. En estos casos, a diferencia del cese o la separación, el inicio del plazo de prescripción de la acción de responsabilidad contra el administrador comienza desde el momento en que deba considerarse caducado el cargo.

The rescission was declared of a mortgage the insolvent company  granted over a  warehouse it owned in guarantee of the  loan a credit institution  had  granted to a company of its group. The Supreme Court declared (i) that the contextual guarantee was  for consideration and (ii) the need for proof of the profit (even indirect) of the guarantor  company without merely belonging to the  group sufficing, and  confirmed that the  rescission only affected the guarantee and not the loan.

The Supreme Court reiterates the doctrine in its rulings of February 12 and 19, 2013, although in this case, unlike the above rulings, in which the credits were classified as insolvency credits, it concluded that instalments resulting from one finance lease agreement falling due after the declaration of insolvency are claims against the insolvency estate.