Key issues The EU Insolvency Regulation has ceased to apply to the UK The English court acquires new grounds for jurisdiction under the EU EXIT Regulations Insolvency proceedings opened in an EU Member State may be recognised by the UK courts based on the UNCITRAL Model Law Cross-border insolvencies between the EU and the UK will likely become more time consuming, complex and expensive Recognition of UK scheme of arrangements is subject to the Hague Choice of Court Convention or t
BackgroundSection 466(1)(a) of the Companies Act 2016 (“CA 2016”) provides that a company is deemed unable to pay its debts if it is indebted in a sum exceeding an amount prescribed and neglects to pay the sums stipulated in the notice of demand within 21 days of being served with the said notice.Through the issuance of the Prescription of Amount of Indebtedness of Company published on 26 January 2017 (“2017 Threshold Order”), this amount was fixed at RM10,000 ...
BackgroundOn 23 October 2020, the Malaysian government gazetted the Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Act 2020 (“Covid-19 Act”). This Act, as evident from its name, is meant to provide temporary measures to ease the impact of Covid-19 on various sectors and industries in Malaysia. Areas addressed by the Covid-19 Act include inability to perform contracts, insolvency and limitation periods ...
The outlook for the year ahead is uncertain with the effects of post-Brexit rules to contend with and COVID-19 continuing to restrict the way we live and work. We look at what the year may have in store for the construction industry. COVID-19 There is no doubt that the pandemic has caused challenges for the construction industry and is likely to have a significant impact into 2021 ...
The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an order that will take effect on January 26, 2021, requiring all arriving international airline passengers to provide proof of a negative COVID test taken within three days of the flight’s foreign departure. For those who have had it, the CDC will require proof of recovery ...
If parents cannot agree whether their children should be vaccinated, they can make an application under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 to ask a judge to determine the issue. In M v H (Private Law Vaccination) [2020], the mother objected to the parties' two children aged six-years-old and four-years-old being given routine childhood vaccines in accordance with the NHS vaccination schedule ...
As promised, the CFPB released the second part of its FDCPA rulemaking covering debt validation notices, collection of time-barred debts, and certain credit reporting restrictions. As with the first rulemaking, these changes could require significant changes to a company’s policies and procedures as well as significant technology upgrades ...
This is a summary of the Annual Report. Click here to access the full guide. The 2020 proxy season shareholder proposals were already submitted before the COVID-19 shadow loomed large over the season; however, such shadow likely impacted how shareholders voted on the proposals themselves, impacted business throughout 2020, and continues to jolt 2021 and the forthcoming 2021 proxy season ...
On Nov. 20, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued two final rules, which implement changes to the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law) regulations (respectively the OIG Final Rule and the CMS Final Rule, collectively the Final Rules) ...
In Changfeng Shipping Holdings Limited v Sinoriches Enterprises Co., Limited HCCT 59/2019; [2020] HKCFI 2703, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance laid down the principles applicable to service out of the jurisdiction of examination orders on officers of corporate judgment debtors pursuant to Order 48 rule 1 and Order 11 rule 9(4) of the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A) (RHC) ...
In an admiralty action, can an intervener, not being the proper defendant, apply to set aside a warrant of arrest of a vessel on non-traditional grounds. The traditional grounds of setting aside warrant of arrest are, inter alia: in excess or lack of jurisdiction ...
The Court of Protection is a specialist Court, focussing solely on supporting vulnerable individuals. This past year has acutely highlighted the needs of those most vulnerable in our society and their dependency on others to help manage their affairs. The Court has had to adjust its practices in order to ensure that help and solutions are found for those lacking capacity with minimal delay ...
2020 was a year of unprecedented circumstances and change, and more change is coming in 2021—this time, in the form of significant modifications to the nationwide permitting program. On September 15, 2020, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to reissue and modify nationwide permits (NWPs), ahead of the usual five-year reauthorization schedule for the current 2017 NWPs ...
On November 27, 2020, mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”) signed the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the “Supplemental Arrangement”) ...
How does one resolve a dispute involving thousands of individual items where it is impractical to deal separately with each one? A recent decision in the Technology and Construction Court provides some guidance - but raises further questions. The case is Standard Life Assurance Limited v Gleeds (UK)(a firm) and Others (December 2020, TCC). Standard Life had engaged Costain as its main contractor for the development of a large residential and retail development in Berkshire ...
The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision by the Upper Tribunal and confirmed that a property guardianship scheme did not mitigate liability for business rates. Background Property guardians are individuals who temporarily live in empty property at reduced rents, ostensibly to protect it from damage and squatters. Typically, they are students, key workers or young professionals looking for cheap living space ...
Sometimes a claimant realises that it has made a mistake. Its case may be pleaded incorrectly, elements of its claim may be unsustainable or stronger claims could be available to it. With permission, amendments can be made but when do these changes become something more than a simple amendment? R G Carter In the recent case of R. G ...
General Since the European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS) was introduced in 2010, several legislative acts have been adopted in the EU without being incorporated into the EEA-agreement. This is mainly due to Norwegian constitutional issues. These constitutional issues were resolved in 2018, and as result, a huge backlog of EU legislative acts needs to be incorporated into the EEA-agreement and transposed into Norwegian law ...
A recent court of appeal decision has definitively clarified the test for assessing the enforceability of liquidated damages clauses in Singapore. Contracting parties intending to incorporate liquidated damages clauses must be mindful of the type of damages that may be recovered in the event of default, especially when exercising a contractual right to terminate the contract ...
European regulations applied in the United Kingdom until 31 December 2020. Insurers could make use of their European Passports until that time. Since 1 January 2021, the European Passports are no longer valid for European insurers that offer their services in the United Kingdom. British insurers lost their European Passports on 1 January 2021. The 27 EU Member States and the United Kingdom reached agreement on a Brexit deal on 24 December 2020 ...
As from 31 December 2020 British sanctions will apply through UK Law. The UK has implemented several sanctions regimes under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (the British Sanctions Act). This act provides the legal basis for the UK to impose and update sanctions after Brexit. This Sanctions Act has enabled the UK to transition existing sanction regimes of the European Union (EU) into UK law. These apply in the whole of the UK, including in Northern Ireland ...
On Dec. 9, Congressional Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), proposed sweeping legislation that would overhaul consumer bankruptcy law. The proposed changes, if adopted, generally would make it easier for consumers to access the bankruptcy system and discharge their debts. Below is a discussion of ten critical changes proposed in the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020 (CBRA). 1 ...
On December 28, 2020, New York passed a new law entitled the “COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020.” The act places a moratorium on COVID-19-related residential real property mortgage foreclosure actions and residential eviction proceedings until May 1, 2021, where a tenant or homeowner has submitted a “hardship declaration” to the foreclosing party, landlord, and/or the court ...
