In this case, the claimant brought proceedings against the first defendant claiming damages for breach of a settlement agreement, and an order under s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 for the setting aside of the sale of a vessel. It was alleged that the sale of the vessel was a sham designed to put the first defendant’s assets out of the reach of the claimant. The latter claim was also brought against two other defendants, being the purchaser and sub-purchaser of the vessel.

Key points

• Court reiterated circumstances in which it will sanction a proposed course of action by administrators

• Requirement that the course of action be “particularly momentous”

• Court sanctioned proposed settlement in the circumstances

The Facts

Key point

• In certain circumstances the court will look to parallel statutory provisions where existing applicable statute does not accommodate the situation, as long as the latter is not offended, expanded or altered by doing so.

The facts

This application for directions was brought by the administrators of Lehman Brothers Europe Ltd (the “Company”) on:

In Global Corporate Limited v Dirk Stefan Hale [2017] EWHC 2277 (Ch), the Applicant, the assignee of the claim in question, failed in its application seeking relief against the former director and shareholder of a company in liquidation, Mr Hale (DSH). The decision is a salutary lesson in the importance of a properly drafted Deed of Assignment, the need to properly consider the commercial benefits of such an assignment and the risks of pursuing an unlawful dividend claim.

The Facts

In between the presentation of a winding up petition and making of a winding up order, a company entered into a settlement agreement with the Respondent, who founded the company and was previously a shareholder and director of the company.

The Decision

There are various ways misconduct can be reported in respect of companies and individuals. Establishing which authority has the power to conduct investigations of wrongdoing depends to a certain extent on the status of the companies and individuals.

The Court of Session has found that the EU Regulations to found jurisdiction for Insolvency proceedings based on COMI do not apply in a purely UK matter.

Bank Leumi (UK) plc (The bank) lodged a petition to make an Administration Order in respect of Screw Conveyor Limited (the company). While the company's registered office was in Birmingham, the bank stated in its petition that the company's centre of main interest (COMI) was in Scotland.

Following our previous article about farms facing insolvency as a limited company, we will now discuss the implications of insolvency on a sole trader or partnership.

Farmers running their business as a sole trader could face personal bankruptcy in the event the business faces financial difficulty.

High Court holds that an Insolvency Exclusion applies in respect of a claim under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 (“1930 Act”) and awards summary judgment accordingly but declines to provide much-needed guidance on insurers’ liability in the case of claims partially settled by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”).

The Insolvency Service has recently published a rather extreme example of a director’s failed attempt to circumvent disqualification[1].