Facts
In April 2015, administrators were appointed to several companies within the NewSat Group. Secured lenders appointed receivers who attempted, unsuccessfully, to restructure the business. Following this, the group was placed into liquidation.
Insights
In its judgement delivered on 25 February 2021, in the names “Dr. Antoine Naudi as special attorney on behalf of the foreign company UR s.r.l vs. Talocan Ltd of Malta”, the Civil Court (Commercial Section), presided over by Hon. Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, analysed the requirements necessary to uphold a dissolution and consequential winding up request in terms of Article 214 (2) (a) (ii) of the Companies Act, Chapter 386 of the Laws of Malta.
Facts of the Case
The Delaware Court of Chancery took the old maxim “justice delayed is justice denied” to heart recently when it denied a request for a stay of proceedings hours after the request had been filed. The ruling from Vice Chancellor Paul A. Fioravanti, Jr. in In re Kidbox.com, Inc., Case No. 2022-0379-PAF, is the latest in a series of rulings from the Delaware Court of Chancery requiring litigants in bankruptcy-alternative proceedings in Delaware to support their petitions for relief with sufficient disclosures and to avoid bare-boned pleadings.
In Shop Direct Finance Company Limited v The Official Receiver, the Commercial Court confirmed that it's the customer’s trustee in bankruptcy - in this case the Official Receiver (OR) - whose knowledge is relevant for the purpose of the time limit rule in DISP 2.8.2R(2). This is likely to be good news for firms facing complaints brought by the OR around historical mis-selling allegations (including PPI).
In a recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia (Sino Group International Limited v Toddler Kindy Gymbaroo Pty Ltd [2022] FCA 630), administrators were held to have validly admitted a $5 million claim for a nominal value of one dollar.
The case is a timely reminder of the importance of appropriately evidencing debts, particularly for the purposes of creditors meetings to determine next steps.
Key takeaways
The Bankruptcy Protector
Can a winding-up petition be presented when a company is being wounded up voluntarily?
The Indian Supreme Court holds in Ebix[1] that once a Resolution Plan has been approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC),it cannot be withdrawn by the Successful Resolution Applicant(“SRA”). It comes to this conclusion by holding that principle applicable under common law or the contract act, viz frustration or force majeure, are not available to the SRA under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (“Code”) regime.
A Texas judge rejected a request by one of Brazos Electric Power Cooperative’s (Brazos) creditors to arbitrate a contract dispute with Brazos over a shared coal plant, citing concerns that the arbitration could delay the bankruptcy case. Brazos is currently in a bankruptcy proceeding stemming from the historic 2021 Texas winter storm.
The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has recently ruled In the Matter of Formation Group (Cayman) Fund I, LP (Formation) 1 that it is possible to bring a just and equitable petition to wind-up an exempted limited partnership (ELP) in its own name, as opposed to that of the general partner (GP). This decision contradicts aspects of Justice Parker's judgment In The Matter of Padma Fund LP (Padma). 2 In this update, we consider these conflicting first instance decisions.