In the UK case of CFL Finance Limited v Rubin and Ors, a creditor had sought to make an individual bankrupt. A creditors' meeting was held. At the meeting, a proposal for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement was approved by the creditor that held the largest portion of debt (and therefore 90.43% of the vote). The other two creditors voted against the proposal.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) v Saad Investments Company Limited (SICL) and Singularis Holdings Ltd (SHL)involved an application by PwC for the setting aside of orders made by the Supreme Court of Bermuda in favour of the liquidators that required the production of documents relating to SICL and SHL. Included among the grounds on which PwC relied to set aside the order were that:
In Cukurova Finance International Ltd v Alfa Telecom Turkey Ltd [2013] UKPC 2, the Privy Council held that a borrower may claim relief from forfeiture notwithstanding that the forfeited security has been appropriated by the lender in satisfaction of a debt.
The administrators of St George’s Property Services (London) Ltd appealed from a decision granting the application of the 2 shareholders and directors of the company to remove the administrators and to appoint replacement insolvency practitioners who were willing to make an application under s 244 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (UK) in respect of an exorbitant credit transaction to which the company was a party.
The New Zealand economy has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic better than many commentators predicted in April last year, in part due to the significant economic stimulus from the government, coupled with record high house prices and rock bottom interest rates. This is reflected in RITANZ's latest formal insolvency statistics, which show record low liquidation application numbers for September 2021 compared to the three previous years.
The High Court in England was asked to consider sanctioning a scheme of arrangement between Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) (LBIE) and certain of its creditors pursuant to Part 26 Companies Act 2006 (the equivalent of Part 15 Companies Act 1993). This case was one of a number of proceedings involving the Lehman Brothers administration, many of which cases have reached the Supreme Court (see our earlier reports on
In Fielding v The Burnden Group Limited (BGL) the English High Court dismissed an application for the liquidator to be held personally liable for the costs of a successful appeal against the rejection of a proof of debt.
A case recently heard in the UK suggests that, in certain circumstances, a claim for conversion of assets may be brought against administrators and liquidators of a company. While the claim did not succeed on the facts inEuromex Ventures Ltd & Anor v BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory & Ors [2013] EWHC 3007 (Ch), the case illustrates that claimants may bring a proceeding on the basis of alleged acts of conversion by a company's liquidators and administrators.
Hackney Empire Ltd v Aviva Insurance Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 1716 concerned the issue of whether a guarantor will still be liable when there are additions or alterations in respect of the original contract. Hackney Empire Limited (HEL) had entered into a contract with Sunley Turiff Construction Limited (STC), under which STC was to restore the Hackney Empire Theatre in London. STC's performance was guaranteed by Aviva Insurance Limited (Aviva) through a bond executed prior to the construction contract being signed.
A recent UK High Court decision on the issue of balance sheet insolvency will be of interest in New Zealand, despite the fact that the respective statutory solvency tests differ.