Last June, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Baker Botts LLP v. ASARCO, LLC, which dramatically altered expectations that had previously been fairly widely accepted in many areas – the right of professionals representing debtors and creditors committees to be reimbursed by the estate for fees incurred in defending objections to their fees. In ASARCO, the Supreme … Continue Reading
Since the third quarter of 2014, the appetite for lending to small and midsized exploration and production companies (E&P Companies) has decreased substantially for several reasons. The most significant reason is the drop in oil prices to the WTI Spot close at Cushing, Oklahoma in the $35 per barrel range at the end of 2015. … Continue Reading
China is one of the largest manufacturers and consumers of iron and steel products. The steel industry in China has developed over several decades into the biggest in the world. China accounts for nearly 50% of world steel production. It has been driven by rapid modernization of its economy, construction, infrastructure and manufacturing industries. The Chinese steel … Continue Reading
Abengoa, the Spanish engineering and energy firm, has communicated to Spain’s High Court that it has initiated restructuring negotiations with its creditors in an attempt to avoid insolvency proceedings. If the restructuring is unsuccessful, it would produce one of the major insolvencies in the history of Spain. On December 18 2015, the Court said it would … Continue Reading
During the previous UK government’s tenure, in March 2015 a call for evidence was launched to understand better the employee consultation process when an employer faces insolvency, restructure or other form of company rescue (Call for Evidence on Collective Redundancy Consultation for Employers facing Insolvency). The call for evidence sought views on the following areas: the understanding of … Continue Reading
Owners of small business entities are frequently required to guaranty the debts of such entities. Those business entities might later file for Chapter 11, and may be able to achieve confirmation of a plan to restructure their indebtedness. The question then presented is whether this confirmation event affects the separate guaranty obligations of the owners? … Continue Reading
The Macron law of 7 August 2015, named after the current Minister of the Economy, anticipated the establishment of specialised commercial courts which will process the most complex insolvency proceedings. Currently, any of the 134 French commercial courts can be applied to; the choice being mainly the location of the distressed company’s headquarters. This new arrangement aims to improve … Continue Reading
In December 2015, as part of its National Innovation and Science Agenda, the Federal Government announced a proposal to introduce a ‘safe harbour’ for directors from personal liability for insolvent trading. The proposal seeks to address Australia’s insolvent trading laws, which are significantly stricter than comparable laws in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. The … Continue Reading
As the next quarterly rental payment fast approaches, some companies – particularly in the retail sector where sales in the run up to Christmas haven’t been what they’d hoped – may be considering exiting an onerous, costly lease. That will involve reviewing the break clauses in the lease and weighing up the costs of exercising … Continue Reading
Saudi insolvency law has for some time been something of an unknown quantity for non-Saudis. A wide-ranging reform is due to take effect in 2016, which will express elements of the rescue culture and is likely to make restructurings more common. Increased certainty in the outcome of insolvencies will benefit both Saudi businesses and domestic … Continue Reading
The director at the heart of the Carrington Wire pension fund deficit saga has been disqualified for a period of 12 years. Background We have previously reported on the background to the Carrington Wire Limited (“CWL”) collapse and the Pensions Regulator’s actions in issuing warning notices to CWL’s former Russian parent company (OAO Severstal), and … Continue Reading
A landmark decision of the Australian Full Federal Court will allow the Applicants to plead market-based causation for claims for misstatements and omissions in an IPO and short form prospectus and for misleading and deceptive conduct claims in respect of various audited financial statements issued by the company Arasor International Limited (“Arasor”). The Court upheld the appeal … Continue Reading
Most loan contracts include provisions allowing the collection of attorneys’ fees in the event the borrower defaults. These attorney fee provisions are routinely enforced in collection suits brought in state courts. However the federal bankruptcy courts operate independent of the state court debt collection system. Bankruptcy cases often generate a variety of controversies that will … Continue Reading
Complex multi-jurisdictional insolvencies are an inevitable consequence of the increasingly global nature of big business. The collapse of the likes of Barings, Enron and most recently Lehmans (the latter involving insolvency proceedings in some 16 jurisdictions) have highlighted the growing need for legislative action to promote cross-border co-operation and protect the interests of international creditors. … Continue Reading
On 1 April 2015, responsibility for consumer credit in the UK transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) to the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). A consequence of this was to replace the OFT’s Consumer Credit Act licencing scheme with the FCA’s authorisation scheme under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”). The impact of this has … Continue Reading
A district court judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania recently vacated a bankruptcy court’s decision allowing rejection of an oil and gas lease under section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code. The District Court held that a debtor’s oil and gas lease was a conveyance of an interest in real property and not an executory … Continue Reading
The directors of the failed courier company City Link had a good reason to celebrate this weekend after the dismissal of criminal charges brought against them for failing to notify the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (“BIS”) of their intention to make City Link’s circa 2,500 employees redundant last Christmas. As explained in an earlier blog by our employment … Continue Reading
The General Motors chapter 11 case continues to produce interesting decisions on a variety of bankruptcy issues. Most recently, the bankruptcy court issued an opinion on the liability of “New GM” for alleged ignition switch defects, many of which involve vehicles manufactured by “Old GM” prior to the bankruptcy filing. A bit of context is … Continue Reading
Click here to read this article in French. It is now possible for creditors and co-contractors of insolvent companies to take certain steps in French insolvency proceedings and make certain statements “online”. Published in the middle of August, the 2015-1009 decree of 18 August 2015 could easily have gone unnoticed, if it hadn’t been expected … Continue Reading
One of the changes introduced by the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (“SBEE”) which came into force on 1 October 2015 was to allow administrators and liquidators the right to assign their rights of action in respect of fraudulent trading claims, wrongful trading claims, transactions at an undervalue, preferences and extortionate credit transactions. A summary of the … Continue Reading
Insiders who loot their corporate entities often dispose of the cash proceeds in transactions with third parties. A recent Seventh Circuit opinion, In re Equipment Acquisition Resources, Inc., 14-2174 (7th Cir. October 13, 2015) (the “EAR Opinion”) addresses a common risk faced by a third party who receives cash from the defrauding insider. Generally, a … Continue Reading
The FCA’s review into the sale of interest rate hedging products by Banks has been ongoing since June 2012. Following a pilot phase, the full review started in May 2013 and over 17,000 businesses have been through the process. Most customers reviewed should now be at the stage where they have been offered basic redress (if … Continue Reading
IBA Insolvency Restructuring International in its Vol 9 No of September 2015 published an article Bankruptcy in Russia: new instruments of protection of creditors’ rights by our two Moscow practitioners Sergey Treshchev and Elena Malevich who analyse opportunities which the creditors have obtained due to the recent amendments in the Russian Insolvency Law. Special rules regulating … Continue Reading
Recent posts on eSQUIRE Global Crossings have highlighted the problems in the oil and gas sector and unfortunately this is not the only sector under pressure. Job losses and insolvency in the steel industry Over the past few weeks, UK job losses in the steel industry have run into thousands. SSI was placed in compulsory … Continue Reading
