In Re Samson Paper Holdings Ltd[2021] HKCFI 3288, the Honourable Mr. Justice Harris sanctioned a scheme of arrangement notwithstanding that there were proposed modifications after the relevant scheme meeting.

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance recognised the reorgansation proceedings of a company based in the PRC for the first time in Hong Kong in Re HNA Group Co Limited [2021] HKCFI 2897.

Background

A newly created subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson recently filed Chapter 11 to manage 38,000 pending talc-related lawsuits and future talc-related claims. There is nothing especially new about using Chapter 11 to deal with mass tort litigation. In the past three decades, thousands of companies, dozens of religious organizations, and even the Boy Scouts of America have filed Chapter 11 because of mass tort claims.

In CPS v Aquila Advisory Ltd [2021] UKSC 49, the Supreme Court has re-affirmed the existing law on illegality and attribution of directors’ wrongdoing to their companies, while providing helpful guidance and clarification on aspects of the law relating to fiduciary duty, constructive trusts, attribution, and illegality.

Fraudulent transfers and actions to avoid them are second nature to both debtor and creditor attorneys. Although the exact requirements may vary amongst state and federal laws, a typical example includes a debtor that transfers its interest in some form of property to another party with the actual intent to prevent a creditor from collecting against that property. However, as unique as the state itself, a previously seldom-used loophole to fraudulent transfer law in Texas has jumped to the forefront of restructuring strategy—the Texas Two Step.

Unless the owner of a limited liability company elects to be treated as a corporation for tax purposes, the IRS will treat a single-member LLC as a “disregarded entity” for tax purposes. As a disregarded entity, an LLC’s assets, liabilities, income and deductions are reported as belonging to the owner for tax purposes. Markell Co. v.

On October 31, 2021, PWM Property Management LLC, along with several affiliates that own premium commercial space in New York and Chicago, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 21-11445). The company reports $1 to 10 billion in assets and liabilities.

A person in possession of a debtor’s property upon a bankruptcy filing now has more guidance from the Supreme Court as to the effect of the automatic stay. In City of Chicago, Illinois v. Fulton, 141 S. Ct. 585 (2021), handed down on January 14 of 2021, the Court was faced with the issue of whether the City of Chicago (the “City”) was liable for violation of the automatic stay for refusing to return vehicles it impounded pre-petition. Issuing a narrow decision under Section 362(a)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code, the Court held that it was not.

Maryland Legal Alert for Financial Services

The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland recently proposed a new local rule in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that mere retention of bankruptcy estate property by a creditor post-petition does not amount to an exercise of control over estate property in violation of the automatic stay.

Maryland Legal Alert for Financial Services