‘The Court of Appeal has allowed the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to try and recover the £800,000 it spent intervening in collapsed law firm Blavo & Co.’
Legal Futures, 17th October 2018
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A High Court judge was wrong to order a non-party costs order (NPCO) where the respondent had not been warned that the applicant was going to seek one, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 10th September 2018
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The UK government has published new tools designed to improve rescue opportunities for companies in financial distress and put more emphasis on directors’ duties.’
OUT-LAW.com, 28th August 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘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.’
BBC News, 26th August 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In the wake of the Carillion insolvency, many sub-contractors are likely to be investigating their rights to terminate their contracts with a now defunct main contractor. Looking for a clean break, they may be tempted by the explicit termination rights that standard form building contracts often contain, and that may be deployed in the event of main contractor insolvency.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 5th July 2018
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘The SRA has issued warning notices[1] to solicitors regarding whether they should act and how they should act towards their clients in relation to purported transactions concerning investment schemes. However, for many the warning will have come too late since many investors have previously parted with deposits (in some cases amounting to the client’s life savings) in return for worthless insurance bonds and unsecured interests in land or property which are also found to be worthless when the developer defaults on the development and becomes insolvent.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 12th July 2018
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has sought once and for all to close three-year proceedings brought by a litigant in person, saying it is not fair to use court time to indulge the matter any further.’
Law Society's Gazette, 9th August 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘When a business goes into insolvency, insolvency practitioners may become responsible for fire safety. Those responsibilities will change if the Hackitt Review’s post-Grenfell recommendations are implemented, particularly if the insolvency involves buildings where people sleep.’
OUT-LAW.com, 7th August 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘In the wake of the Carillion insolvency, many sub-contractors are likely to be investigating their rights to terminate their contracts with a now defunct main contractor. Looking for a clean break, they may be tempted by the explicit termination rights that standard form building contracts often contain, and that may be deployed in the event of main contractor insolvency. On the surface, terminating appears as simple as writing to the liquidator citing the relevant provision, and declaring the contract to be at an end. However, a potential trap awaits the unwary. Unwitting sub-contractors may inadvertently forfeit any right to claim loss of bargain damages, that is, the loss of profits that would have been made had the contract carried through to completion. This is potentially a highly lucrative right, particularly if the sub-contractor is at the start of a multi-year project that was expected to generate significant future earnings. This result arises from the case of Phones 4U Ltd (in administration) v EE Ltd.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 4th July 2018
‘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.’
OUT-LAW.com, 29th June 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Companies and lawyers must be clear and unambiguous when drafting settlement agreements, a court ruling has reminded them. A liquidator had to drop some claims after a court used correspondence to clarify exactly what was meant by the phrase “whole of the claim” in a compromise agreement. The ruling does not affect the liquidator’s claim against another person because she was not mentioned in the correspondence.’
OUT-LAW.com, 5th June 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘A solvency statement was found to be invalid, a reduction in capital and distribution unlawful and three directors in breach of their duties after a corporate reorganisation left a company unable to meet its liabilities, the High Court has ruled.’
OUT-LAW.com, 22nd May 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell plans to sue Sir Philip Green and contest a proposed boardroom ban in a bid to repair his “tarnished reputation” and resurrect his career.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th April 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell will be banned from serving as company director for up to 15 years over his role in the the high street chain’s collapse, while its previous owner Sir Philip Green will escape any sanction. The Insolvency Service said that the retail mogul Sir Philip, who sold BHS to thrice bankrupt Mr Chappell little over a year before its demise for £1, will not face further action.’
Daily Telegraph, 27th March 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Company directors were said to be responsible for assets despite their use of corporate vehicles, the Supreme Court has ruled (12-page / 157KB PDF). The ruling means that a six year limitation period stopping liquidators taking legal action against the directors does not apply. This case will impact future misfeasance actions. Director and officer indemnity insurers should take note of this decision as it confirms that the English courts are unwilling to accept the six-year limitation defence for actions against directors following the disposal of company assets in breach of fiduciary duty for economic gain.’
OUT-LAW.com, 23rd March 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘The High Court has said that BHS cannot challenge the terms of its own company voluntary arrangement (CVA) as unenforceable contractual penalties. The case provides guidance as to how CVAs operate post termination and the payment of rent as an expense of a company’s administration in priority to other debts.’
OUT-LAW.com, 14th March 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘One of the interesting features of the recent decision of Coulson J in Ziggurat (Claremont Place) LLP v HCC International Insurance Company Plc is the effect on a guarantee of a contractor becoming insolvent many years after a construction project has been completed. In Ziggurat, the amended ABI model form of guarantee bond had not yet expired. This allowed the employer to make a claim under the guarantee arising out of the contractor’s insolvency, notwithstanding the fact that the contractor’s employment had already been terminated and the project had achieved practical completion.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 21st February 2018
‘The High Court has said that it could not impose a permanent moratorium against creditor action in England and Wales where the foreign restructuring of an Azerbijan bank had been recognised as a foreign main proceeding under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations.’
OUT-LAW.com, 5th February 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Over the past few months, a number of large construction companies have been making headlines for facing severe financial difficulties. However, sub-contractor insolvency can also cause considerable problems for other parties on construction projects who have contractual relations with that party.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 24th January 2018
‘I read the decision in Ziggurat with some incredulity. I hadn’t intended to trespass on Karen Spencer’s territory, and overall I’d agree with her conclusion that the amendments made to the ABI form seem to have confused rather than clarified matters. I’d also agree with Roddy Cormack’s comment that more radical surgery is needed if the employer wishes to secure earlier payment following the contractor’s insolvency. But I did want to offer some thoughts on what the decision tells us about wider issues in the surety bonding market.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 17th January 2018
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