The COVID-19 crisis has pushed intellectual property holders and implementers into a distressed situation. In this webinar, we explore what happens if a party to an IP licence becomes insolvent, and discuss practical tips for the non-insolvent party to protect its position.
Welcome to the results of our third annual Pensions in Restructuring Survey.
This year's survey gathers views on the issues with pensions in corporate restructuring, with a particular focus on the points arising from the Department for Work and Pensions' recent white paper, "Protecting Defined Benefit Pension Schemes".
Key points
Information obtained by compulsion can be shared between officeholders of connected estates (parent/subsidiary)
There must, however, be a possibility that there will be a surplus in the subsidiary estate
The prospect must be real as opposed to fanciful
The facts
In Re Edengate Homes (Butley Hall) Ltd (in liquidation) Lock v Stanley (in his capacity as liquidator) and another [2021] EWHC 2970 (Ch), the High Court has confirmed that to reverse a liquidator's assignment of claims to a third party, the claimant must satisfy a 'formidable' test.
Background
On 17 May 2021, in the third of a trio of landlord challenge cases, the English High Court revoked Regis UK Limited's company voluntary arrangement (CVA) on one ground of unfair prejudice, but ruled against landlords seeking repayment of fees against the nominees.
The facts
Pensions in Restructuring Survey Report
January 2021
2020 might provide answers to many political and economic issues, but it is not possible to see with perfect vision what the future holds for pensions in restructuring matters.
That was part of the conclusion to the
report on Taylor Wessing's previous
Pensions in Restructuring Survey; with
hindsight, 2020 brought few answers
and posed many questions.
Pensions In Restructuring Survey Report
Welcome to the results of Taylor Wessing's fifth annual Pensions in Restructuring Survey
What's the issue?
Many commercial contracts for the supply of goods or services contain clauses (known as ipso facto clauses) which allow a party to terminate in the event that the other enters into an insolvency process. Concerns have grown that termination under these circumstances restricts the ability of the company in trouble to engage in a successful restructuring or rescue (of either the company or the business) which can result in a negative impact on creditors.
What's the development?
The UK’s corporate governance regime has been stress-tested in the past decade and in many respects it has done well. However, in response to certain high profile corporate collapses which have caused heavy losses for creditors, in particular individuals and suppliers with little opportunity to protect themselves against losses, and in the spirit of continual improvement, the government has recently launched its “Insolvency and Corporate Governance Consultation”.
The consultation indicates that the government is considering changes in the law to address:
The facts
The Applicant granted two guarantees to a bank in 2006 and 2007 in respect of two facility letters. The bank assigned the Second Facility and the benefit of the First Guarantee to the Respondent. The amounts due under the Second Facility fell due for payment on 31 March 2008 and were only demanded for payment in 2015.
In John Doyle Construction v Erith Contractors, the Court of Appeal has further considered the interrelation of insolvency and adjudication, providing guidance on the circumstances in which an adjudication award might be enforceable by a company in liquidation.
The key takeaways
Jurisdiction