Insolvency Blog - European Insolvency
Modified universalism endorsed in Tambrook
Date: 23rd May, 2013 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
In the leading judgement in the Court of Appeal in HSBC Bank plc v Tambrook Jersey Limited [2013] EWCA Civ 576, Davis LJ approved Lord Hoffman’s reference in re HIH Casualty & General Insurance Limited [2008] UKHL 21 to “the principle of (modified) universalism, which has been the golden thread running through English cross-border insolvency law since the 18th century.” Davis LJ made reference to the leading case, Rubin v Eurofinance [2012] UKSC 46, which commentators have identified as stepping away from the modified universalism principle (with the exception of the dissenting view of Lord Clarke). I wonder whether Mann J at...
INSOL Europe: Chris Laughton to Honorary Membership
Date: 15th April, 2013 | Author: Natalie Clare | Comments: 0
At its recent meeting in Basle, INSOL Europe's Council was unanimous in electing Chris Laughton to Honorary Membership of the association, in recognition of his meritorious service to the insolvency profession and outstanding work on behalf of the association as its president in 2010-11 and in relation to Eurofenix, the European Insolvency Regulation Case Register and communication. ...
European and UK Insolvency Law
Date: 4th March, 2013 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
The Supreme Court’s decision in Rubin v Eurofinance, its possible approach in the Eurosail case and a Question Time style debate on the European Commission’s proposed changes to the European Insolvency Regulation, were at the heart of a stimulating and thought provoking Insolvency Lawyers’ Association conference on 2 March 2013. Meeting old and new lawyer friends from the UK, offshore and Europe in and around the sessions at Trinity Hall, Cambridge added to the richness of the proceedings, with enquiry and debate spilling well beyond the lecture room. As a panel member alongside representatives of academia, the...
News from the INSOL Europe Annual Congress in Brussels
Date: 12th October, 2012 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 1
In a packed break-out session – standing room only! – INSOL Europe’s Turnaround Wing (which I co-chair) discussed the Mexican stand-off: forcing consensual restructuring solutions on stakeholders. The oxymoronic phrase highlights the challenges of operating in the twilight zone between severe distress and formal insolvency. The key points highlighted were: Whether the impact of insolvency is clear or, as in some jurisdictions, ill-defined, insolvency is a threat that promotes consensus through fear of the unknown or the unacceptable. Valuations bring clarity, but will be tempered by issues that can be identified in the legal documentation. Cultural effects may...
Mercer & Hole’s strategy approved at creditors’ meeting for fitness shoe brand
Date: 17th July, 2012 | Author: Maria Bailey | Comments: 0
Creditors collectively approved Mercer & Hole’s strategy for the administration of Masai GB Limited at yesterday’s creditors meeting. Chris Laughton and Peter Godfrey-Evans of Mercer & Hole had been appointed in May 2012 as joint administrators of the UK distributor for the high-street shoe brand MBT with stores and concessions throughout the UK. The administrators had the company continue to trade for as long as stocks were available and costs could be controlled tightly. The result was 2 months of profitable trading, during which some of the 53-strong workforce could continue to be employed. The prospects for...
Summary of ‘European Insolvency Regulation Debate’ at The Supreme Court
Date: 9th July, 2012 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
Motion defeated – the message was clear, let the UK get on with getting it right Conflicting views and passionate discussions marked INSOL Europe’s debate on the European Insolvency Regulation at the UK’s Supreme Court on Friday 6 July 2012, chaired by Chris Laughton, a restructuring and insolvency partner at Mercer & Hole, Chartered Accountants, which concluded that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Over 50 leading insolvency experts from the UK and a variety of other European countries participated in the debate. INSOL Europe’s proposals for significant...
Supreme Court Debate on the European Insolvency Regulation
Date: 6th July, 2012 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
Chairing a debate in the Supreme Court on INSOL Europe’s proposals to the European Commission about revision of the European Insolvency Regulation should liven up my Friday afternoon! Robert van Galen and David Marks QC are to propose the motion “This House believes that detailed substantive and technical changes to the European Insolvency Regulation, as proposed by INSOL Europe, are now required”. They will be opposed by Gabriel Moss QC and Felicity Toube QC. An invited audience from the profession, press, judiciary, legislature and regulators, as well as academia, will determine the winners! The principal areas...
TUPE damages employees’ and the UK’s interests
Date: 13th April, 2012 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employees) legislation is so restrictive that business value (and hence employees' interests as creditors), businesses' ability to continue (ie jobs) and opportunities to undertake international restructurings in the UK using administration are all suffering. I am writing from an AIJA (International Association of Young Lawyers) conference in Prague, where I have been speaking and am representing INSOL Europe. Discussions over the last 24 hours both on and off the platform have highlighted to me that the UK's implementation of the EC Acquired Rights Directive is so flawed as to not only render the UK...
European Insolvency Law Harmonisation and Theory
Date: 1st November, 2011 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
Preference law, rules on reorganisation or composition plans, claim validation rules and insolvency of groups of companies are included amongst the topics identified as apt for harmonisation in INSOL Europe's report to the European Parliament, Harmonisation of Insolvency Law at EU Level. They are also the topics discussed in a paper by Roelf Jakob De Weijs in an Amsterdam Law School research paper, Harmonisation of European Insolvency Law and the Need to Tackle Two Common Problems: Common Pool & Anticommons. Arguing for a European debate on bankruptcy theory, De Weijs explains creditors frustrating reorganisation or composition plans, creditors...
European Insolvency Regulation Annexes
Date: 3rd June, 2011 | Author: Chris Laughton | Comments: 0
Listing in its Annexes the insolvency procedures to which the European Insolvency Regulation applies should assist in bringing certainty to the application and use of the Regulation. But can we really be certain? Take the Sauvegarde Financière Accélérée in France, which is not listed in any annexe at the time of writing. It is a separate procedure from Sauvegarde (which is listed). Moreover, Sauvegarde is not an insolvency procedure in France, but is recognised there as a pre-insolvency mechanism. Does it therefore constitute a collective insolvency proceeding (because if not,...
