On 2 June Morgan J gave reasons for granting an injunction restraining a creditor from presenting a winding up petition in what must be one of the first applications, and possibly the first application, made for Covid-19 reasons (Re a Company (Injunction To Restrain Presentation of Petition) [2020] EWHC 1406 (Ch)). The applicant company was a High […]
Re Daystreet15 Ltd (in liquidation) (CR-2017-002096) is a recently released judgment of ICC Judge Mullen setting out handy analyses of the tests for strike out/summary judgment and fraudulent trading in the context of a company’s attempts at tax avoidance which ended in insolvency. The case is a salutary reminder of the high bar a defendant will […]
At last the bill was laid before parliament yesterday 20th May, seeking to confirm legislation for many of the recent pronouncements on corporate reform. The bill is a mixture of (i) very long promised reforms held up by a lack of legislative time-owing to Brexit, and -until the pandemic- scheduled to receive parliamentary time in […]
In a recent High Court decision, a petition for the winding up of a family company was struck out on the basis that the petitioner acted unreasonably in seeking to wind up the Company rather than pursuing alternative options. Background The Company had run a successful farming business and the Petitioner and Second Respondent were […]
PJSC VTB Bank v Laptev [2020] EWHC 321 (Ch) concerned a petition brought by a Russian bank against a debtor in circumstances in which the relationship between the parties was governed by Russian law and the debtor was already the subject of bankruptcy proceedings in Russia in which the bank had registered its claim as a […]
Author – Sarah Rushton, Partner, Head of Employment Law NB: Please note that due to the rapidly changing situation advice may change Statutory Sick Pay New SSP rules will apply with retrospective effect from 13 March in relation to coronavirus absences. SSP of £94.25 per week will be payable where an employee is unable to work […]
Sometimes events can be so unprecedented that even the canniest business people fail to comprehend what’s happening until it’s too late. The COVID-19 “coronavirus” crisis is one such event. Businesses […]
Read moreAuthor – Graham McPhie, Partner The decision of Morgan J handed down on 19th March 2020 had to consider whether it was permitted to continue an appeal against a bankrupt party. The claim was connected with a joint venture that the claimant and respondents entered into with monies advanced. There was a side issue as to whether there […]
California member Howard N. Gould of Gould Law gave a webinar for the Beverly Hills Bar Association titled “FORCE MAJEURE AND OTHER THEORIES TO TERMINATE CONTRACTS OR DEFEND AGAINST NON‐PERFORMANCE CLAIMS” on April 14th to over 250 lawyers. The program can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUqVgjCZT1I Howard is Chair of the Real Estate Section of the […]
Author – Frances Coulson, Senior Partner, Head of Insolvency & Litigation Our first real decision about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on civil litigation comes in the form of a robust judgment of John Kimbell QC, sitting as a deputy High Court judge, in Re One Blackfriars Ltd (in liquidation), Hyde and Anor (Joint Liquidators of One Blackfriars […]
Re Glenn Maud; Edgeworth Capital (Luxembourg) SARL and anor v Maud [2020] EWHC 974 (Ch) is the latest in a series of judgments given by Snowden J in relation to attempts to bankrupt Mr Maud. The facts of the case are “labyrinthine” (the judge’s word) and need not concern us beyond noting that both the Libyan Investment […]
Author – Frances Coulson, Senior Partner, Head of Insolvency & Litigation On 23 March 2020 Roger ter Haar QC, sitting as a deputy High Court Judge, gave judgment on what he described as “an interesting and, so far as I am aware, novel submission” on a question of costs (Benyatov v Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd [2020] EWHC […]
