Insolvency Insight - Issue 2 | June 2021

• Published date: 07 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Insolvency/Bankruptcy/Re-structuring, Insolvency/Bankruptcy
• Law Firm: Quadrant Chambers
• Author: Mr Joseph England

OVERVIEW

Welcome to the second edition of the insolvency insight bulletin from the insolvency specialists at Quadrant Chambers. All cases link to the relevant judgments.

Author: Joseph England

Editors: Nicola Allsop and Emily Saunderson

Case Law

• Melars Group Ltd v East-West Logistics LLP [2021] EWHC 1523 (Ch) - Former Chief ICC Judge Baister decided that the registered address of the debtor in Malta was a letterbox arrangement and that its COMI was England for the purposes of the Recast Insolvency Regulation However, Miles J reversed this finding, holding its COMI to be Malta. It held inter alia that the ICC Judge had not sufficiently distinguished between the place where the company's interests were administered (which was relevant to COMI) and the conduct of its operations (which was irrelevant for COMI). Although post-Brexit, such cases about COMI may be less common.
• Manolete Partners plc v Hayward and Barrett Holdings Ltd and others [2021] EWHC 1481 (Ch) - The Court held that a fraudulent transaction claim under section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 should have issued under CPR Part 7 and not by an insolvency application notice. It held that s.423 claims were not an insolvency proceeding by examining the relevant parts of the 1986 Act. Despite examples of s.423 claims being brought by insolvency application notices practice could not override statute. The Court, however, allowed the claim to continue upon payment of the (higher) Part 7 Court fee.
  
• Re All Scheme Limited [2021] EWHC 1401 (Ch) - It can sometimes appear, from a glance at the Lawtel Daily Updates, that all schemes of arrangement are approved by the Court. Not here. A subprime lending group proposed a scheme seeking to compromise consumer claims in relation to questionable loans. The scheme had been approved by over 95% by number and value of voting scheme creditors. However, only 10% or less...