In brief

EIGHTH CIRCUIT BANKRUPTCY MONITOR

NCLAT: Decree holder cannot be classified as a financial creditor for the purpose of initiating Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 II. Supreme Court: Limitation period for an application under Section 7 of the IBC for initiation of CIRP is three years from the date of default III. NCLAT: IBC has no bar for the 'Promoter' to file 'resolution application', even if otherwise not eligible in terms of Section 29A IV. Consumer Protection Act, 2019: An analysis

The new UK Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (CIGA), which took effect in June 2020, ushers in permanent changes to the English insolvency and restructuring landscape as well as temporary, and largely retrospective, measures to help mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three permanent additions are:

When someone dies, it is not always clear whether or not their estate is insolvent. It can take time, particularly with complex estates, for assets and liabilities to be identified and claims by creditors to be brought. Personal representatives (“PRs”) and their advisors need to be alive to the prospect of an estate being insolvent and take action swiftly to ensure their financial exposure is minimised and consider how best to administer the estate for the benefit of estate creditors rather than beneficiaries.

Alerts and Updates

The Third Circuit’s ruling in In re Tribune provides important insight on what it means for a plan to unfairly discriminate.

As in most countries around the globe, businesses and individuals in Singapore are grappling with the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although not drafted with the effects of a pandemic in mind, new insolvency and restructuring laws in Singapore are timely and should provide valuable assistance in some circumstances.

In an important decision issued at the end of August, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in In re Tribune Co., Case No. 18-2909 (3d Cir. Aug. 26, 2020), held that subordination agreements need not be strictly enforced when confirming a chapter 11 plan pursuant to the Bankruptcy Code’s cramdown provision in section 1129(b)(1). In its decision, the Third Circuit also encouraged bankruptcy courts to apply “a more flexible unfair-discrimination standard” and set forth eight guiding principles to aid in that effort.

It is not uncommon that foreign administrators/ liquidators see the needs to seek enforcement or exercise their power in Hong Kong. The legal position in this regard is by and large aligned with the rest of the common law world in that Hong Kong Courts would recognize and assist foreign liquidators upon conditions being satisfied. The liquidator will then be able to exercise powers as if it were a local liquidator subject to certain limits. Importantly, this includes power to initiate actions.

The Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (“IRDA”) consolidates Singapore’s personal and corporate insolvency, restructuring and dissolution laws into one omnibus legislation. Prior to this, the provisions pertaining to personal insolvency were contained in the Bankruptcy Act, while provisions related to corporate insolvency were contained in the Companies Act. The Bankruptcy Act and the relevant provisions in the Companies Act have since been repealed with the IRDA coming into force on 30 July 2020.