We will soon enter a phase of the Covid19 era when more and more companies will be forced to apply for protection from their creditors under the Examinership provisions of the Companies Act, 2014. Security as always will be a key consideration for the stakeholders in this restructuring process. Fixed and floating charges are almost always well protected but what about personal or corporate guarantees?
The legislation
The legislation is very specific regarding guarantees.
The English Supreme Court has handed down its long-awaited judgment in Sevilleja v Marex Financial Ltd. The key issue the case has dealt with is the scope of the reflective loss principle in English law. This might not mean much to the average person, but the decision is potentially ground-breaking for creditors of companies seeking justice. This short article explains why.
The reflective loss principle
Insolvency Case Update: Paulus Tannos v Heince Tombak Simanjuntak and others [2020] SGCA 85
In split decision, Singapore Court of Appeal refuses recognition of Indonesian bankruptcy orders for breach of natural justice
Significant holdings:-
a. The question of whether there has been a breach of natural justice in a foreign court is one which the Singapore court alone can decide.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unparalleled disruption to the judiciary, which has been presented with logistical hurdles as well as acute legal issues to tackle.
This article summarises some notable recent caselaw concerning the fallout from the pandemic. Broadly, the judiciary has adopted a strict but fair approach when parties have sought leniency due to the impact of COVID-19. Courts have not looked kindly on those who are seen to be unfairly capitalising on the disruption but, where merited, parties have been granted clemency.
The English High Court in Telnic Ltd v Knipp Medien Und Kommunikation GmbH [2020] EWHC 2075 (Ch) has confirmed that the court has discretion to restrain a winding-up petition against debtor's when the debt is governed by an arbitration agreement.
Knipp Medien Und Kommunikation GmbH (Knipp) appealed against an order to stay its winding-up petition against Telnic Limited (Telnic). Telnic also brought a cross-appeal seeking orders that Knipp's petition be dismissed rather than stayed.
Susheel Dutt has unsuccessfully appealed a decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal that he was guilty of unbecoming conduct, negligence or incompetence in a professional capacity and the suspension of his membership for a period of 18 months, highlighting the important role that insolvency practitioners play and the high standards expected of the profession.
The High Court judgment in Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Livingspace Properties Ltd (in rec and in liq) [2020] NZHC 1434 is another chapter in the continuing, bitter saga between Robert Walker, the liquidator of Livingspace and David Henderson (through his wife as proxy).
New Zealand's insolvency practitioner licensing regime came into force on 1 September 2020. Ahead of that date, controversial insolvency practitioner, Damien Grant, applied to join RITANZ, which was a requirement for him to be licensed to continue as an insolvency practitioner, because he was not a chartered accountant. RITANZ considered his application in June 2020 and refused it on good character grounds. RITANZ's decision has not been publicly released, but is understood to be founded on Grant's historical dishonesty convictions.
With facts described as "labyrinthine", Edgeworth Capital (Luxembourg) SARL v Maud [2020] EWHC 974 (Ch) is the latest judgment from Snowden J on efforts to bankrupt Mr Maud.
Snowden J’s latest judgment deals with three issues:
In Hampton v Minter Ellison Rudd Watts [2020] NZCA 291 the Court of Appeal found that ordering a stay of enforcement of a bankruptcy order would undermine the insolvency law regime.