The Facts
RBK Engineering Ltd served a winding up petition on Breyer Group Plc, a construction company and contractual counterparty, alleging that it owed £258,729.16 and had admitted its insolvency. Breyer Group Plc applied to strike out the winding up petition on the basis that it was an abuse of process. It argued that it was solvent and had substantial counterclaims of its own.
The Decision
What role does The Pensions Regulator have when pension schemes need protecting? In episode seven of Pensions in 30 Podcasts, we look further into contribution notices and financial support directions and when they can be brought into play.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
Key Points
Key Points
- S 304 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is concerned with acts or omissions by a trustee in bankruptcy that have caused loss or damage to the estate
- However, the wording of that Section does not go so far as to state that in no circumstances can a trustee owe an enforceable duty in respect of loss or damage caused to the bankrupt personally.
The Facts
The case of Singularis Holdings Ltd v Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Ltd [2017] EWHC 257 (Ch) concerned the liability of a stockbroking company for failing to investigate fraudulent transactions.
Ever since the introduction of the ‘out of court’ procedure to appointment an administrator, there has been a practice of filing successive Notices of Intention to Appoint an Administrator. This practice has been the topic of much discussion and its legality was recently addressed by the Court of Appeal in the case of JCAM Commercial Real Estate Property XV Limited –v- Davis Haulage Limited [2017] EWCA Civ 267.
Introduction
In Akers & Ors v Samba Financial Group (Rev 1) [2017] UKSC 6, the UK Supreme Court confirmed that British insolvency officers can only void dispositions of a company's assets held on trust in certain circumstances.
LBI EHF (in winding up) v. Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG and Raiffeisen Bank International AG [2017] EWHC 522 (Comm)
Minding the Gap
JCAM Commercial Real Estate Property XV Limited -v- Davies Haulage Limited [2017] EWCA Civ 267
Summary
The Court of Appeal has closed an important loophole benefitting tenants that are considering options for insolvency.
The Court of Appeal recently made an important decision on the equity of exoneration in the case of Armstrong (As Trustee In Bankruptcy Of Onyearu) V Onyearu & Anor (2017).
In 2016 the High Court considered the validity of an assignment of a lease by a tenant to its guarantor. The antiavoidance provisions in section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 ("1995 Act") strictly limit the freedom of contract of parties to leases governed by that Act, broadly, those granted after 1995. Agreements which frustrate those provisions are void even if they are commercially justifiable.
BRIEF FACTS AND DECISION
EMI Group Limited v O&H Q1 Limited [2016] EWHC 529 (Ch)