Bankruptcy in Mexico has two successive stages: reorganization and liquidation. When reorganization is not possible, bankruptcy is converted to the liquidation stage. The purpose of the reorganization stage is to maintain the enterprise and pay the allowed creditors through a reorganization plan. The purpose of the liquidation stage is to sell the enterprise – as a going concern or in segments – and pay the allowed creditors.

It’s rare for a debtor in bankruptcy to raise allegations of involuntary servitude and a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. But one debtor did just that after a chapter 11 trustee was appointed to take over the debtor’s bankruptcy estate. The debtor alleged the constitutional violation on the ground that he would be involuntarily forced to work for his creditors.

One difficulty encountered by creditors and trustees in bankruptcy is the use of one or more aliases by a bankrupt. Whether it is an innocent use of a nickname or an attempt to conceal one's identity, the use of an alias can often create problems for creditors seeking to pursue debts and for trustees seeking to recover assets held by a bankrupt.

How does it happen?

Through a trio of decisions, Mr Justice Harris has opened a new and commendable era for Hong Kong’s cross-border insolvency regime. The position under this new era is in brief thus:

First, the Hong Kong court is likely to use the debtor’s centre of main interests (“COMI”) as a yardstick to determine eligibility for recognition and assistance.

What happens to a company’s intellectual property rights when the company is dissolved?

Sometimes not all loose ends are tied up neatly and companies are dissolved whilst still owning assets. What happens to those assets if they are not bought prior to dissolution can appear mysterious, but even following the dissolution of the company the assets may continue to exist. In this article we discuss the processes that can be used in England and Wales to obtain intellectual property assets from dissolved companies.

Falling into “bona vacantia”

In its recent decision in Matter of First River Energy, LLC,¹ the Fifth Circuit resolved a priority dispute between lienholders regarding their competing claims to cash held by the debtor, First River Energ

Mr. O’Neill held a Buy-Out-Bond (BOB) with a pension provider. The retirement options were standard for such a product; allowing for the purchase of annuity, or investment in an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) or Approved (Minimum) Retirement Fund (AMRF) as well as providing for taxable and non-taxable lump sum entitlements. Mr. O’Neill denied any entitlement of his official assignee (OA) in bankruptcy in exercising the retirement options provided by his pension where a Bankruptcy Payment Order (BPO) pursuant to s85 of the Bankruptcy Act 1988 (Act) had not been obtained.

This article summarises the findings of the High Court in Re gategroup Guarantee Limited [2021] EWHC 304 (Ch) (Re gategroup Guarantee Limited) and provides a view of its effects on the cross-border application of the Restructuring Plan (defined below) and the use of co-obligor structures in restructurings.

The Restructuring Plan

The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany is significantly affecting commercial landlords and tenants. The German legislator has taken various measures to mitigate the consequences of officially ordered business closures during lockdown and other pandemic-related adverse effects. 

Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (Aeroméxico), is a publicly held company incorporated under the Mexican laws. It has its establishment in Mexico and yet filed for bankruptcy in a US court. Probably Aeromexico wanted to get access to a more flexible and expedited bankruptcy, but at the end of the day, its bankruptcy story will be finished in Mexico.