The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York was recently presented in In re Rede Energia, S.A.with the question of whether a confirmed Brazilian reorganization plan for Rede Energia, S.A. should be enforced in the United States.
Background
In accordance with the Constitution, companies that want to contract with government entities must participate in a tender process (Article 37, XXI). Under the Law of Tenders (Law 8,666/1993) – which governs government procurement – a company must prove that it has the necessary technical and financial qualifications and that it has regularly met its tax and labour obligations in order to participate in a bid.
The chapter 15 cases of OAS S.A. ("OAS") and its affiliates represent the second time in less than one year that a U.S. bankruptcy court has been confronted with a serious challenge to the recognition of insolvency proceedings in Brazil by a group of U.S. creditors. The latest challenge focused on two separate lines of attack: (1) whether the "foreign representative" authorized to commence a chapter 15 case can be appointed by the company rather than the foreign insolvency court; and (2) whether Brazilian insolvency law is manifestly contrary to U.S. public policy.
In Stanford v Akers the BVI Court of Appeal addressed standing in the context of applications under Section 273 of the Insolvency Act 2003, whereby an aggrieved person can ask the court to reverse or vary a liquidator's decision.
The liquidators of Chesterfield entered the company into a global settlement agreement with Deutsche Bank AG and Kaupthing, which included the admission of Kaupthing's claim in Chesterfield's liquidation.
In the recent BVI Court of Appeal decisions of Wembley and Sutton ‘disabled’ bearer shareholders were found to have a constitutional right not to be deprived of their property without compensation.
In a major development in BVI insolvency law and practice, the BVI Commercial Court has held in Constellation Overseas Limited (BVIHC (Com) 2018/0206 – 2012), that provisional liquidation is available to facilitate a restructuring. The decision brings the British Virgin Islands broadly into line with Cayman and Bermuda, where restructuring provisional liquidations have been used to support several landmark cross-border restructurings in recent years.
Domestic Procedures
What are the principal insolvency procedures for companies in your jurisdiction? | Liquidation: voluntary and official. Cayman does not have an equivalent to the English concept of the company administration or to the Chapter 11 process in the United States. Schemes of Arrangement/“Soft Touch Liquidations” allow the company to enter into an agreement with its shareholders and/or creditors. |
The Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça - STJ) judged Direct Appeal n. 1.223.792 where the State of Mato Grosso do Sul sought to include the delay penalty in the classification of the credits in the bankruptcy of a company. According to the opinion announced by the Second Panel, in the case of bankruptcy declared during the validity term of Law n.
Grant Thornton were appointed as receivers over a BVI company under Section 43 of the Arbitration Act 2013 to preserve the value of the company pending the determination of foreign arbitration proceedings. The defendant in the arbitration owned the shares of the BVI Company.
In separate but related proceedings, the BVI courts have permitted an applicant to inspect documentation relating to the liquidation of certain BVI companies.
In Robert Tchenguiz v Rawlinson & Hunter Trustee SA (the TFT Trust claim) Tchenguiz sought delivery of all proof of debt and claim documentation submitted by the defendant trustees to the joint liquidators in the liquidation of the companies.