This monthly legal roundup is a compilation of our thought leadership articles and primers published in the month of December 2022 on key legal and regulatory topics. Please click on the access links to read more.
A. INSOLVENCY LAWS
1. Leasehold right: An intangible asset
“The [Subchapter V] Trustee shall— . . . facilitate the development of a consensual plan of reorganization.” 11 U.S.C. § 1183(b)(7).
That’s what we Subchapter V trustees are supposed to do.
Ok, fine. But how are we supposed to do that?
A facilitation tool that many Subchapter V trustees are using is this: Zoom facilitation meetings.
What follows is an explanation of how such meetings can work.
Initial Meeting
On December 5, 2022, in In re Global Cord Blood Corp., 2022 WL 17478530 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Dec. 5, 2022) (“Global Cord”), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) denied recognition of a proceeding pending in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the “Cayman Proceeding” and the court, the “Cayman Court”) because it was more like a corporate governance and fraud remediation effort than a collective proceeding for the purpose of dealing with reorganization or liquidation, as Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code requires.
The Alberta Court of King's Bench (the Court) has confirmed that the abandonment and reclamation obligations owed to the Orphan Well Association (OWA) and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) rank in priority to claims of municipalities for unpaid property taxes in insolvency proceedings.
Flight v. Leblanc 2022 ONCA 831, argued by Lucy Sun and Jason Squire of Lerners, involved an interesting intersection of limitations law and insolvency practice. We were retained by the respondent on the appeal of a summary judgment motion dismissing the action (we did not act at first instance).
Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code provides a mechanism for United States cooperation and coordination with insolvency proceedings abroad, often affording foreign debtors wide-ranging relief and expansive rights through the United States Bankruptcy Court system. Not all proceedings in foreign jurisdictions are eligible — in order to be so, a proceeding must constitute a “foreign proceeding” under the Bankruptcy Code.
Commercial insolvency can affect stakeholders located in multiple jurisdictions and possessing diverse legal rights. A recent notable trend in Canadian insolvency law is the centralization in insolvency proceedings, where courts have recognized that an effective restructuring of an insolvent business may depend on the centralization of stakeholder claims in a single proceeding. This applies even when such an approach would be inconsistent with the parties’ contractual rights, statutory laws or Canada’s federal structure outside of the insolvency context.
Contents
- Commencing proceedings
- Avoidance actions
- Claims against directors, officers and shareholders
- Creditor actions and strategic considerations
- Pre-insolvency debtor claims
- Other claims
- Cross-border proceedings
- Remedies and enforcement
- Settlement and mediation
- Update and trends
01 — Commencing proceedings
Litigation climate
Overview of this submission
It is five years since the tragic Grenfell disaster but defective cladding/dangerous living conditions and fire safety are still very much hot news. But, you may be asking, why is this relevant to insolvency practitioners?