Supreme Court decision gives further clarity on claims by distressed companies against directors

Although not directly concerned with directors’ liabilities, the recent Supreme Court judgment in Stanford International Bank Ltd v HSBC Bank PLC [2022] UKSC 34 (previously considered here) provides further clarity on the circumstances in which a distressed or insolvent company may seek to make claims against its directors. The key aspects affecting directors’ liabilities are … Read more

What the Crypto Winter means for insolvency

There has been no shortage of high-profile insolvencies in the crypto market in recent months across a range of market participants and geographies. These include the US Chapter 11 and Bahamas provisional liquidation of FTX as well as the US Chapter 11 filings of BlockFi, Singapore-based crypto hedge fund ThreeArrows Capital, US-based lender Celsius Network, … Read more

Key Supreme Court insolvency ruling clarifies stance on creditor duties

A much-anticipated Supreme Court judgment has confirmed the position as to when directors owe obligations to consider the interests of creditors, dismissing an appeal against the Court of Appeal decision in this case: BTI v Sequana [2022] UKSC 25. In its decision, a majority of the Supreme Court has: affirmed the existence of the duty … Read more

Navigating UK sanctions against Russian persons in English court proceedings

The UK is one of many countries which have introduced extensive sanctions against Russia, its individuals and entities in light of the military action in Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022. The application of the sanctions is generally limited to the territory of the UK and the conduct of UK persons (as defined) inside … Read more

Supreme Court confirms UK government’s recognition of President of Venezuela, leaving Commercial Court to determine who is authorised to give instructions on behalf of Venezuelan Central Bank

Following an ongoing dispute between two competing Boards of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), both claiming to be appointed by the recognised President of Venezuela, the Supreme Court determined unanimously that: (a) Mr Guaidó is recognised by Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) as the constitutional interim President of Venezuela; and (b) Mr Maduro is not recognised … Read more

Claimants “substantially succeed” in the largest ever English civil fraud trial

The High Court has published a summary of its findings on liability in the long-running USD$5 billion civil fraud action brought by the Hewlett Packard group in connection with its acquisition of the UK software company Autonomy Corporation Limited (“Autonomy”) in 2012.  The claimants have “substantially succeeded” in their claims against two former Autonomy executives: ACL … Read more

Court of Appeal gives guidance on jurisdiction rules in libel claims

The Court of Appeal has clarified how section 9 of the Defamation Act 2013 should be interpreted, finding that the requirement it introduced for the court to be satisfied that England is the most appropriate place to hear a libel dispute is merely a modification of the usual regime which applies where a claimant needs … Read more