Whether—and in what circumstances—a debtor should pay creditors a make-whole premium continues to be litigated in bankruptcy courts. Last week, as reported by Bloomberg, Judge Dorsey (Delaware) ruled that the debtor – Mallinckrodt Plc – did not need to pay a make whole premium to first lien lenders in order to reinstate such obligations under the debtor’s chapter 11 plan.
Legislation Update
As foreshadowed in the last edition of Insolvency Insight the legislative provisions easing the restrictions on the presentation of winding up petitions entered into effect on 1 October 2021.
Highlights
Subject to exceptions, a director of a company that enters into liquidation is restricted from being involved in the management of a new or existing company (SecondCo) with the same or a sufficiently similar name to that of the liquidating company (section 216 Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986)). If in breach of s.216, a director will have personal liability for all the relevant debts SecondCo incurred during the period of the breach under s.217 IA 1986.
The High Court recently dismissed a landlord creditor's application to overturn a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) initiated by coffee shop chain Caffé Nero. Here, we recap the key facts of the case and summarise the highlights of the High Court's ruling.
The facts
In November 2020, Caffé Nero – hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic – proposed a CVA to creditors to compromise rent arrears (at 30p in the £1) and reduce future rents for the company's premises.
On November 8, 2021, ORG GC Midco LLC of Houston, TX filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 21-90015).
An emerging issue facing bankruptcy courts in subchapter V — small business reorganization cases[1] — is whether the 19 categories of debts listed in section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code are subject to discharge in a cramdown confirmation of a corporate debtor’s plan of reorganization.
The very first case that the Hong Kong Court recognised and granted assistance to bankruptcy administrators appointed by the Mainland Chinese courts in insolvency proceedings commenced in Mainland China in Re CEFC Shanghai International Group Limited [2020] HKCFI 167. Following the latest developments in the insolvency and restructuring regime, the Hong Kong Court has made further strides towards the enhanced cross-border restructuring cooperation in Re HNA Group Co Limited [2021] HKCFI 2897, in which the Honourable Mr.
In a recent decision that will be of considerable interest to insolvency practitioners, the English High Court dismissed a challenge to a liquidator's decision to assign causes of action originally vested in an insolvent company to a specialist insolvency litigation financing company.