In the case of Southbury Insurance Ltd v Black, Messrs Downey and Black, the receivers of South Canterbury Finance (SCF) successfully sought permission from the Court to be appointed liquidators of Southbury Insurance Limited (Southbury) despite being disqualified under section 280(1) of the Companies Act 1993 (the Act).

According to media reports, the failure of a small IT company may jeopardise Telecom's XT network. 

Justice Venning approved a scheme of arrangement under Part 15 of the Companies Act 1993 effecting the managed withdrawal by ACS (NZ) Limited from its insurance business in New Zealand.  The Court noted that the Scheme provided the best opportunity for an ordered and efficient run-off and management of claims with minimal disruption in relation to the company's processes.  In liquidation, the liquidators would need time to familiarise themselves with the operation of the company and would proceed on a cautious basis, which would likely result in a material delay in meeting claims.

A recent High Court decision by Justice Heath on the new section 30(2B) of the Receiverships Act 1993 (the Act) provides guidance as to how receivers should account for their remuneration and expenses when dealing with accounts receivable and inventory.

The key points are as follows:  

Until recently, the PPSA did not give second and subsequent ranking secured creditors a statutory right to take possession of collateral in the event of default. The PPSA has recently been changed to allow all secured creditors to exercise this right. The recent case of Glenmorgan v New Zealand Bloodstock [2011] NZCA 672, however, confirms that all secured creditors can also rely on contractual rights to take possession of collateral. Secured creditors should ensure that their security documents clearly give them this right.

In a decision released in September 2011, the High Court ruled that a mortgagee cannot exercise its power of sale under the mortgage if the Family Court has subsequently made an interim occupation order under the Property (Relationships) Act. That ruling had significant consequences for mortgagees, and was appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The High Court has confirmed its broad power to bypass the strict legislative requirements that otherwise govern voluntary administrations.  Section 239ADO(1) of the Companies Act allows the Court to make any order that it thinks appropriate about how the voluntary administration provisions of the Companies Act are to operate in relation to a particular company.

“...we consider that the section means what it says, and that there is not much point in trying to paraphrase it.” (Supreme Court in Thompson v CIR)

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