We have published a series of articles dealing with directors’ duties in the zone of insolvency. In previous briefings, we have written about the high-profile UK Supreme Court ruling in Sequana and the New Zealand Supreme...more
In BTI 2014 LLC v. Sequana SA and Others [2022] UKSC 25 (“Sequana”), the Supreme Court confirmed the existence of a duty owed at common law by company directors to consider the interests of its creditors, and also provided...more
When a company is facing the prospect of insolvency, even far in the future, do the directors protect the investors or the creditors first? Our Financial Restructuring & Reorganization Group considers a UK Supreme Court case...more
Due to the recent challenging economic environment, the law’s treatment of creditors’ interests in a restructuring or insolvency has been a hot topic. From a creditor’s perspective, its objective will be straightforward: to...more
Representatives of asset managers often take up positions on the boards of portfolio companies. We have written posts before on some of the litigation and regulatory risks that can arise, both for the asset managers and the...more
In an important decision for U.S. companies with UK subsidiaries, the UK Supreme Court recently handed down its long-awaited judgment in BTI 2014 LLC v. Sequana S.A., the first case in which the UK's highest court...more
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (“SC”) has recently handed down a decision in the case of BTI v Sequana, dealing with the powers and duties of company directors. The appeal was expected to be of considerable...more
Recently, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom released its judgment in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA1. This marks the first occasion on which the nature, scope and content of directors' duties to creditors when a company is...more
Directors who opposed a winding up action citing an unrealistic restructuring proposal have now been ordered to pay costs, after a swift follow-on decision by the Hong Kong Companies Court....more
The UK Supreme Court has, for the first time, considered the existence, content and engagement of an obligation on directors to take into account the interests of creditors when a company becomes, or is on the cusp of...more
In a new ruling, the UK Supreme Court concluded that the rule applies only when a company is “insolvent or bordering on insolvency”. On 5 October 2022, the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in BTI 2014 LLC v. Sequana...more
On 5 October 2022, the English Supreme Court handed down its decision in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA and others. This (as described by Lady Justice Arden) “momentous” decision principally concerns whether directors are under...more
The Supreme Court has ruled, for the first time, on the existence, specific content and engagement of the so-called “creditor duty” or the “rule in West Mercia”. In doing so, it unanimously dismissed BTI’s appeal. ...more
Key Points - - The UK Supreme Court has affirmed directors' duty to consider creditors' interests. - The timing for the duty to be engaged is pushed back to when a company is bordering on insolvency. - Once the...more
Summary - The Supreme Court has delivered its long-awaited decision in BTI 2014 LLC v. Sequana S.A. [2022] UKSC 25. It is a significant decision for the law of directors’ duties. For the first time the UK’s highest...more
In what Lady Arden described as a “momentous decision for company law,” the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has confirmed that there are circumstances in which company directors are required to consider the interests of...more
UK Supreme Court gives important judgment on directors’ “creditor duty” The UK Supreme Court in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA and ors [2022] UKSC 25 has given an important judgment clarifying the nature of the so-called “creditor...more
The Supreme Court’s decision in BTI v Sequana & Others represents the most significant ruling on the duties of directors of distressed companies of the past 30 years. This Supreme Court decision considers the balancing...more
The decision provides new judicial guidance for determining the boundaries of cross-class cram down tests. On 28 June 2021, the High Court declined to sanction a restructuring plan proposed by Hurricane Energy plc...more
What is the reflective loss principle? • The English law principle of reflective loss traditionally held that when a company suffered loss as a consequence of the actions of a third party, the loss suffered by its...more
The Supreme Court Judgment in Sevilleja v Marex Financial Ltd [2020] UKSC 31, handed down on 15 July 2020, clarifies and substantially confines the scope of the doctrine of reflective loss. The Court, in a majority...more
The decision overturns a series of cases deemed to have over-expanded a principle preventing shareholders from claiming against third parties for falls in a company’s value. On 15 July 2020, the UK Supreme Court...more
The rule against reflective loss bars claims against wrongdoers by shareholders of a company (for instance for the diminution in the value of their shareholding) where the shareholder’s loss is merely reflective of the loss...more
Summary – Decision of U.K. Supreme Court - The U.K. Supreme Court has closed off a challenge to the restructuring of Banco Esporito Santo (BES) under English law. Through an emergency liquidity facility creditors had...more
Supreme Court of England clarifies terms for enforcement of international arbitral awards in Taurus Petroleum Limited v State Oil Marketing Company of the Ministry of Oil, Republic of Iraq [2017] UKSC 64 - The English...more