This article was first publised on Practical Law's Dispute Resolution Blog.
Taurus Petroleum v. SOMO [2017] UKSC 64
The Supreme Court has recently issued judgment in this matter concerning an attempt to enforce an arbitration award in London by obtaining a third party debt order over sums payable to the debtor under letters of credit issued by a London bank in respect of unrelated transactions.
The recent decisions in Avonwick Holdings Ltd and others v Shlosberg and Leeds v Lemos have restricted the ability of trustees in bankruptcy to use privileged documents belonging to the bankrupt. What do these rulings mean for trustees?
The Trustee in Bankruptcy's purpose and powers
The judgement in BHL v Leumi ABL Limited [2017] EWHC 1871 (“BHL”) has been seen by many as another example of courts enquiring more readily into commercial terms agreed by large corporate entities and scrutinising the exercise of contractual powers.
A recent application made by the insolvency practitioner of Agrokor, a major Croatian conglomerate, resulted in recognition in England of a stay of civil proceedings against the group. The purpose of the application was to halt any proceedings in relation to Agrokor's securities and debt obligations containing English law and jurisdiction provisions, pending the restructuring in the Croatian insolvency proceedings of the group's affairs.
Global Corporate Limited v Dirk Stefan Hale [2017] EWHC 2277 (Ch)
Summary
A recent judgment re-iterates the importance of carefully drafting a deed of assignment when assigning claims.
In Global Corporate, the liquidators of a company assigned certain claims by way of a deed of assignment to Global Corporate Limited (the “Assignee”). The Assignee (the Applicant in this case) then brought several claims against the company’s former director and shareholder.
Court of Appeal sets out test for whether defendant has assets for a freezing order application and considers the impact of delay in applying
The Insolvency Act 1986 (“the Act”) provides Trustees in bankruptcy with a number of mechanisms to reverse transactions, entered into prior to a person being declared bankrupt by the court, which have the effect of diminishing a bankrupt’s estate to the detriment of his or her creditors. Antecedent transaction claims aim to recover assets back into the bankrupt’s estate for the benefit of creditors. Some commonly used provisions are transactions at an undervalue, preferences and transactions defrauding creditors.
Case Alert - [2017] EWCA Civ 1872
Court of Appeal orders security for costs where ATE insurance policy did not contain an anti-avoidance provision
The Facts
This case is the first to really consider the practical impact of the recent Court of Appeal decision in Shlosberg v Avonwick [2016] EWCA Civ 1138, in which it was decided that legal professional privilege does not vest in a Trustee in Bankruptcy.