In John Doyle Construction v Erith Contractors, the Court of Appeal has further considered the interrelation of insolvency and adjudication, providing guidance on the circumstances in which an adjudication award might be enforceable by a company in liquidation.

The key takeaways

Jurisdiction

On 23 November 2021, the Supreme Court of India, in the case of TATA Consultancy Services Ltd. v. Vishal Ghisulal Jain, Resolution Professional, SK Wheels Pvt. Ltd. (TCS Case), clarified that the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) cannot be invoked by the corporate debtor if the termination of a contract by a third party takes place on grounds unrelated to the insolvency of the corporate debtor.

Brief facts

On May 7, 2021, we issued a client alert regarding the Perdue Pharma case and the possibility that the bankruptcy case could include a release of individual non-debtor members of the Sackler family. At that time, a plan which contained terms that would effectively extend the automatic stay protections was confirmed by Judge Robert D. Drain, who presided over the bankruptcy case in the Southern District of New York.

We examine what impact the Court of Justice of the European Union decisions in Hampshire v PPF and PSV v Bauer will have on PPF compensation post-Brexit

In brief

The Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act ("Act") received royal assent on 15 December 2021.

The Act extends the scope of powers available to the Insolvency Service to address the issue of directors dissolving companies to avoid paying their liabilities.

The Grand Court in the Cayman Islands recently confirmed the appropriate insolvency test to be applied pursuant to section 224 of the Companies Act (2021 Revision) (“Companies Act”) in respect of a Cayman Islands segregated portfolio company (“SPC”), in a judgment delivered in respect of Obelisk Global Fund SPC (“Fund”) and Obelisk Global Focus Fund (“SP1”).

1. Segregated portfolio companies

Another case shows the perils of waiting until the final minutes to meet a court deadline. In re U-Haul, 21-bk-20140, 2021 Bankr LEXIS 3373 (Bankr. S.D. W. Va. Dec. 10, 2021).

The debtor is a well-known truck rental company. Years before the debtor filed for bankruptcy, a class action lawsuit was filed against it. The suit alleged the debtor had improperly charged certain environmental fees and sought damages totaling $53 million.

In a win for liquidators, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia this week found that a creditor cannot rely on set-off under the Corporations Act 2001 to reduce an unfair preference claim under section 588FA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Act).

In an opinion yesterday, Judge McMahon vacated the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement because she found that the bankruptcy court lacked authority to issue releases in favor of the Sackler family.

On 15 November 2021, the English Court released its reasoned judgment for the sanction of Amicus Finance Plc's (Amicus) restructuring plan.

Background

Amicus, a short term property lender, entered administration in 2018. The administrators proposed a restructuring plan to compromise creditors' claims, exit the administration and ultimately restore the company as a going concern. The company faced imminent liquidation if the plan was not approved. Secured creditor, Crowdstacker, an online peer-to-peer lending platform, opposed the plan.