In re Main Street Business Funding, LLC, No. 23-2430 (3d Cir. Sept. 5, 2024) (Ambro, J.), the Third Circuit confirmed that an all-assets lien that extends to after-acquired property does not extend to a borrower’s commercial tort claims unless described with sufficient particularity under the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”). The court also confirmed that commercial tort claims can constitute proceeds of collateral, but that the commercial tort claims here did not constitute proceeds of the loan at issue in the case.
Background
On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court released its 5-4 opinion in connection with the bankruptcy case of Purdue Pharma L.P. (“Purdue”). Over a vigorous dissent authored by Justice Kavanaugh, a narrow majority of the Supreme Court held that the Bankruptcy Code does not permit chapter 11 plans of reorganization to provide for non-consensual releases of non-debtors outside of the asbestos context.
A recent decision by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in In re Walker County Hospital Corporation serves as an important reminder to clients that are purchasing or renewing directors and officers (“D&O”) insurance coverage that the “Insured versus Insured” exclusion must contain the broadest possible exceptions for claims brought against directors and officers following a bankruptcy filing. Without the specific policy language, current and former directors and officers may be exposed to personal liability.
Pooling Orders: Use of Property in a Joint Business
Morgan v McMillan Investment Holdings Pty Ltd [2024] HCA 33("McMillan")
"Where two or more related companies have engaged in a common business enterprise and are being wound up in insolvency, it may be appropriate in certain circumstances for the separate entities of the companies to be disregarded so that they are wound up together as if they were the one company." Harmer Report [854]
A recent decision of the Court of Session has found that a Scottish administration can be declared as ancillary to an insolvency process in another jurisdiction. This means that the insolvency proceedings in one jurisdiction are considered as the main insolvency proceedings, while the ancillary proceedings in the other jurisdiction are restricted to dealing with the company's assets located there.
Background
The Federal Court in Hema Maps Pty Ltd v HemaX Digital Pty Ltd, in the matter of HemaX Digital Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 1127, appointed a provisional liquidator to preserve the status quo until the determination of a winding up application. This winding up application was due to a deadlock and an irreparable breakdown in relations between shareholders, and mismanagement of the company.
Key Takeaways
In a judgment issued yesterday (Francis v Gross [2024] NZCA 528), the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned the controversial High Court decision in Francis v Gross [2023] NZHC 1107 and held that purchasers of partly constructed modular buildings (pods) did not have equitable liens (at all, and especially not in priority to secured creditors) over those pods.
A distressed merger and acquisition (“M&A”) is essentially a sub-category of a conventional M&A, which involves sales of shares or assets of companies that are in financial turmoil and these companies are being placed under administration, receivership and/or liquidation. Due to the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, distressed M&A transactions have become more common in recent years with companies in financial and operational distress looking to dispose of their assets to better manage high illiquidity as well as reducing over-indebtedness risk.
The Federal Court of Australia recently handed down a landmark judgment against a third party adviser for devising an asset-stripping scheme and breaching the creditor-defeating disposition provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).