High Court rules directors cannot buy assets of their liquidated company on the cheap – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 30th, 2020 in company directors, company law, compensation, insolvency, news, valuation by tracey

‘The High Court has ruled that company directors cannot buy assets from their liquidated companies at below market value.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th January 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Director must compensate creditors for cut-price purchase from insolvent company – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 23rd, 2020 in company directors, company law, compensation, insolvency, news, valuation by tracey

‘Directors of insolvent companies should not be allowed to buy assets of the business on the cheap, the High Court has ruled. In Systems Building Services Group Limited [2020] EWHC 54 (Ch), the court this week ruled that a director is liable to pay the liquidators of his company money he saved by not placing a house owned by the company on the open market when the company went under.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 22nd January 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Whose knowledge counts? Singularis v. Daiwa and Attribution – 4 New Square

Posted November 20th, 2019 in agency, company directors, company law, duty of care, fraud, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Last week, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Singularis Holdings Ltd v. Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Ltd [2019] UKSC 50. That case got the attention that it did because of the tension with the result in Stone & Rolls Ltd v. Moore Stephens. Others have dealt with the detail of the decision in Singularis (including an excellent article by my colleague, Mark Cannon QC). I want to look more generally at the issues created by attribution in a corporate context, and how the courts in recent years have approached them.’

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4 New Square, 6th November 2019

Source: www.4newsquare.com

CVAs after the Debenhams decision – Falcon Chambers

Posted November 7th, 2019 in company law, debts, insolvency, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘In May 2019, the requisite majority of the creditors of Debenhams Retail Ltd voted in favour of a company voluntary arrangement (“CVA”) proposed pursuant to s.1 of the Insolvency Act 1986. As has become common, the scheme of arrangement proposed by the CVA only affected the rights of landlords and rating authorities. All other creditors were to be paid in full.’

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Falcon Chambers, 31st October 2019

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

A Summary Of Recent Corporate Insolvency Cases – Hardwicke Chambers

‘Phillip Patterson provides a summary of recent corporate insolvency cases covering:

– Fraudulent trading;
– Misfeasance, transactions defrauding creditors and the duties of directors; and
– The out of court appointment of administrators.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 9th October 2019

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Legal advice privilege “survives” company’s dissolution – Legal Futures

‘Legal advice privilege (LAP) attaching to communications between a company and its lawyers survives the dissolution of the company, even if the Crown has disclaimed all interest in its former property, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 7th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Derivative actions and unfair prejudice petitions, by Georgina Squire – Law Society Gazette

‘Shareholder claims principally consist of unfair prejudice petitions (UPPs), instigated by members on their own behalf, and derivative actions (DAs), brought by the members on behalf of the company. Dinglis v Dinglis [2019] and Tonstate Group Ltd and Ors v Edward Wojakovski [2019] have developed the law surrounding a shareholder’s ability to bring UPPs and DAs. They involve family-run companies, providing cautionary tales for family members who choose not to formalise matters sufficiently.’

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Law Society Gazette, 23rd September 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

UK court rejects landlords’ challenge to Debenhams CVA – Pinsent Masons

Posted September 25th, 2019 in company law, debts, landlord & tenant, news, rent by michael

‘Court rejected landlords’ challenge to Debenhams’ CVA in what will be seen as a victory for retailers and a validation of “landlord only” CVAs.’

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Pinsent Masons, 24th Septwmber 2019

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Akcil & Ors v Koza Ltd & Anor [2019] UKSC 40 – Hardwick Chambers

‘The first respondent (“Koza Ltd”) was a private company incorporated in England in March 2014. Koza Ltd was a wholly owned subsidiary of the sixth appellant (“Koza Altin”), a publicly listed company incorporated in Turkey and part of a group of Turkish companies known as the Koza Ipek Group (“the Group”). The Group was formerly controlled by the second respondent (“Mr Ipek”).’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 22nd August 2019

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Exclusive Jurisdiction for Company Law Claims Under Article 24 (2) of the Brussels I (Recast) Regulation: Akçil and Others v Koza Ltd and Another [2019] UKSC 40 – 39 Essex Chambers

‘On 29 July 2019, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Akçil and others v Koza Ltd and another [2019] UKSC 40 (see Supreme Court judgment) unanimously overturning the decision of the Court of Appeal ([2017] EWCA Civ 1609) regarding the interpretation of the the exclusive company law jurisdictional provisions in Article 24(2) of the Brussels I (Recast) Regulation (1215/2012).’

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39 Essex Chambers, 2nd August 2019

Source: www.39essex.com

Expert Evidence on Share Valuations: When to use hot tubbing in unfair prejudice petitions – 4 New Square

‘A critical part of any unfair prejudice petition is the valuation of the minority shareholding. Paul Mitchell QC and Nigel Burroughs of 4 New Square were counsel on different sides in Swain v Swains Plc, a case in which the expert share valuation evidence was taken concurrently. They look at the pros and cons of hot tubbing, and offer practical advice on how to approach the way experts should give their evidence.’

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4 New Square, 22nd July 2019

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Shareholder Disputes in Sport – 4 New Square

‘As the law of unfair prejudice in the conduct of companies’ affairs has developed, sports clubs (particularly football and rugby clubs) have proved to be fertile sources of disputes between shareholders. In this article, we examine unfair prejudice petitions which have concerned the sports sector to look at the effects of those decisions and at what we can learn not just about the sorts of shareholder disputes which arise in sports clubs but also what we can learn from those decisions and apply to shareholder disputes in other contexts.’

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4 New Square, 24th July 2019

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Diversion of a Business Opportunity: Recovery Partners & anor v Mr Rukhadze & ors [2018] EWHC 2918 (Comm) – Blackstone Chambers

‘The High Court recently had reason to consider liability where individuals, who owe fiduciary duties to a company, divert for themselves a business opportunity.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 25th February 2019

Source: www.employeecompetition.com

UK executive pay disclosure rules come into force – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 7th, 2019 in company law, disclosure, news, remuneration by sally

‘New laws requiring large quoted UK public companies to be more open about their remuneration of boardroom executives have come into force.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th January 2019

Source: www.out-law.com

Dissolved company’s files “still privileged”, says court – Legal Futures

Posted November 22nd, 2018 in company law, documents, enforcement, law firms, news, privilege by tracey

‘Legal professional privilege can protect the documents of a dissolved company from disclosure, the High Court has ruled in a case involving global firm Dentons.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

UK unveils raft of new measures to help distressed companies – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 29th, 2018 in company directors, company law, insolvency, news by sally

‘The UK government has published new tools designed to improve rescue opportunities for companies in financial distress and put more emphasis on directors’ duties.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th August 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Company collapses lead to insolvency law clampdown – BBC News

Posted August 28th, 2018 in company directors, company law, dividends, insolvency, news, pensions by sally

‘Company bosses who dissolve their firms to avoid paying off staff or meeting pension commitments will risk being hit with fines, under new government plans.’

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BBC News, 26th August 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judgment of the Court of Appeal in Lehtimäki v The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) and others [2018] EWCA Civ 1605 – Radcliffe Chambers

Posted August 6th, 2018 in charities, company law, fiduciary duty, news by sally

‘Mark Mullen appeared for HM Attorney General before the Court of Appeal in Lehtimäki v The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) and others [2018] EWCA Civ 1605.

In the claim, the claimant (‘CIFF’), a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, sought approval of the making of a grant of $360 million to a new charity established by one of its directors.’

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Radcliffe Chambers, 6th July 2018

Source: www.radcliffechambers.com

Akhmedova v Akhmedov: piercing the corporate veil – Family Law

Posted July 3rd, 2018 in company law, divorce, financial provision, news, shareholders by sally

‘It is not incomprehensible that wealthy business shareholders feed their high-net-worth assets through their companies, with the consequence of making the assets available to their spouse limited and out of reach. It therefore comes as no real surprise that the English family courts have shown that they are prepared to tackle the issues related with parties hiding international assets within divorce proceedings, whilst trying to remedy the same.’

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Family Law, 2nd July 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

CVA should not proceed following emergence of £126m claim, says UK court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 29th, 2018 in company law, contracts, insolvency, news by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal in England and Wales has ruled that a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) should not continue after the emergence of a new claim for £126 million against the insolvent company. The ruling underlined how important clarity and specificity are in contract terms.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th June 2018

Source: www.out-law.com