As the economic crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic deepens, commercial landlords would be wise to review the deposit language contained in their leases with their counsel. In particular, the wording of the rent deposit and security deposit provisions should be examined more closely and consideration given to who would be entitled to the deposit in the context of a tenant bankruptcy.

Personal bankruptcy can significantly impact a family law matter and it is important that parties are aware of the potential consequences. By way of general summary only:

What are the implications of bankruptcy?

If you or your former spouse / former de facto partner become bankrupt:

The latest news and developments in retail mortgage lending and regulation.

This month in summary:

News

Government updates on the pandemic

There have been a number of updates that will affect lenders in respect of the pandemic. The key stories are:

In what has been Australia’s largest corporate scalp in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Virgin Australia has appointed partners from Deloitte as voluntary administrators. The decision to appoint administrators reportedly arose from the Federal government’s refusal to inject $1.4b as part of a recapitalisation proposal.

Status Of Crypto-Assets Under English Law

The definition of ‘property’ in section 436 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is considered by many to be wide enough to be inclusive of crypto-assets, and recent developments in this jurisdiction also support the position that crypto-assets constitute property under English law.

Last week, in our first of what we expect to be many articles in the series “Bankruptcy On Ice”, we wrote about the unprecedented suspensions of proceedings enacted in several major chapter 11 bankruptcies in response to the temporary store closures and critical protective measures being imposed to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Introduction

Another Hong Kong court decision has questioned whether the judgment in the leading case of Lasmos Limited v. Southwest Pacific Bauxite (HK) Limited [2018] HKCFI 426, may have gone too far when it suggested that an arbitration clause in an agreement should generally take precedence over a creditor's right to present a winding-up petition.

In Part I of this three part series we noted the likelihood that credit bidding will be more prevalent in today’s unpredictable economic environment and discussed some of the statutory backdrop. Here, in Part II, we will discuss certain mechanics that are associated with making, and later consummating, a credit bid.

On 15 April 2020, the Federal Court provided the Administrators of Colette with relief from personal liability with respect to the company’s lease obligations.

Colette entered administration in February 2020, prior to the Coronavirus pandemic in Australia. In early March 2020, Administrators noticed sales had begun to substantially decline which had resulted in the company operating at a loss. The decline in sales dropped even further following the Government’s announcements regarding social isolation measures.