In May 2021, we published an article, Milestone in Hong Kong-Mainland China cross border insolvency: Mutual recognition of and assistance to Insolvency Proceedings between Hong Kong and Mainland China, which highlighted the key features of the cooperation mechanism in relation to Hong Kong-Mainland China cross border insolvency set out in the Record of Meeting of the Supreme Peopl
National Car Parks' proposed restructuring plan aimed to write-off arrears, cut rents and close unwanted sites but why did the plan stall?
On 30 April 2021, National Car Parks launched its proposed restructuring plan, which is the flagship new restructuring process introduced last June through the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020. Around a dozen restructuring plans have come to market so far, but the NCP plan was only the second (the first being Virgin Active) to involve landlord creditors.
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has released its decision in Canada North, conclusively resolving the priority dispute between deemed trusts created under the federal “fiscal statutes” (being the Income Tax Act (the “ITA”), the
Is there any downside to a debtor filing a motion to estimate a claim? Or, is an estimation motion simply procedural in nature? As the debtors recently discovered in In re SC SJ Holdings LLC, a motion to estimate a claim before a bankruptcy court may not always lead to a significantly reduced claim, and may impact plan confirmation.
The Facts
A key goal of the Bankruptcy Code is to prevent corporate insiders from profiting from their employer’s misfortune. Section 503(c) of the Code makes clear: “there shall neither be allowed, nor paid... a transfer made to, or an obligation incurred for the benefit of, an insider of the debtor for the purpose of inducing such person to remain with the debtor's business” absent certain court-approved circumstances.
Last Friday, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Al Jaber v Mitchell [2021] EWCA Civ 1190, a keenly awaited decision which considers with the application of the doctrine of immunity from suit to statements given by a former director during an examination under section 236 Insolvency Act 1986.
COVID-19 M&A Lessons
In recent years, there has been an increasing trend for different creditors to issue multiple petitions against the same debtor company. This may be due to the large number of listed companies in Hong Kong encountering financial difficulties during this period of economic downturn, or simply a lack of knowledge of the law in this area.
It has been held that the non-payment of debt (even significant and undisputed debt) is not, of itself, sufficient to establish insolvency. There must be more.