ONC Corporate Disputes and Insolvency Quarterly – August 2020

ONC Corporate Disputes and Insolvency Quarterly

Dear Clients and Friends,

This special newsletter aims to regularly update practitioners on important and noteworthy cases in the areas of corporate disputes and insolvency in Hong Kong, the UK and other common law countries. In this issue, we have highlighted:

· 10 Corporate Insolvency Cases

· 4 Cross-border Insolvency Cases

· 1 Restructuring Case

· 2 Corporate Disputes Cases

· 3 Bankruptcy Cases

Our selection of cases and our analysis of them may not be exhaustive. Your comments and suggestions are always most welcome. Please feel free to contact me at ludwig.ng@onc.hk

Best regards,

Ludwig Ng

Partner, Solicitor Advocate

ONC Lawyers

HEADLINES OF THIS ISSUE

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Corporate Insolvency Cases

1. Adjournment of petition refused where no unsecured creditor supported the outline restructuring proposal

Re Chase On Development Ltd [2020] HKCFI 629

2. Implied term can defeat a winding-up petition to dispute an “indisputable” debt

Re Golden Oasis Health Limited [2020] HKCFI 364

3. Court sanction not required for litigation funding agreements in liquidation cases

Re Patrick Cowley and Lui Yee Man, Joint and Several Liquidators of the Company [2020] HKCFI 922

4. Winding up family companies owned by a couple found to constitute an abuse of process where the petitioner wife was seeking ancillary relief in parallel divorce proceedings

Ng, Christina v Capella Capital Ltd and Another [2020] 2 HKLRD 274

5. Receivers of Shares failed in application to reconstitute an uncooperative board

Emperor Securities Ltd v SMI Investment (HK) Ltd and Others [2020] HKCFI 881

6. Application to adjourn petition based on very general terms of restructuring taking place in the Mainland refused

Re SMI Holdings Group Ltd (formerly known as SMI Corporation Limited) [2020] HKCFI 824

7. Decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal applying the prima facie standard in winding up proceedings where a disputed debt is subject to an arbitration agreement

AnAn Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd v VTB Bank (Public Joint Stock Company) [2020] SGCA

8. Creditor’s interests held as the key consideration in an application to stay a winding-up order pending appeal

Safe Castle Limited v China Silver Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited [2020] HKCFI 1028

9. The UK Supreme Court restated the “No Reflective Loss Rule” – the significance of the decision to civil claims and insolvency law

Sevilleja v Marex Financial Ltd [2020] UKSC 31

10. Shareholders and directors have no standing to apply for injunction to restrain presentation of a winding-up petition against the company

Shorts Gardens LLB v London Borough of Camden Council [2020] EWHC 1001 (Ch)

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Cross-border Insolvency Cases

11. Hong Kong Court continues to recognize and assist Mainland liquidators

Re The Liquidator of Shenzhen Everich Supply Chain Co, Ltd [2020] HKCFI 965

12. Hong Kong Court continues to recognise “soft-touch” provisional liquidators of offshore company

Re the Joint and Several Provisional Liquidators of China Oil Gangran Energy Group Holdings Limited (in provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands) [2020] HKCFI 825

13. Court withheld assistance to foreign liquidators pending order to be made by the courts of the place of liquidation

Re The Joint & Several Liquidators of Rennie Produce (Aust) Pty Ltd v Cheung Fong Chau Alan and Others [2020] HKCFI 1500

14. Bermuda Court discharged an ex-parte order recognising the appointment of a foreign liquidator upon finding that the order was obtained for an illegitimate purpose

Stephen John Hunt v Transworld Payment Solutions U.K. Limited (in liquidation) [2020] SC (Bda) 14 Com

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Restructuring Cases

15. Hong Kong Court sanctioned a scheme of arrangement to compromise English and New York law-governed debts

Re China Singyes Solar Technologies Holdings Ltd [2020] HKCFI 467

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Corporate Disputes Cases

16. In what circumstances other than after trial can the court properly enter a judgment for relief in an unfair prejudice petition?

Re Gain Semiconductor Ltd [2020] HKCFI 596

17. The Singapore Court of Appeal Reassessed the Test for Equitable Compensation in Breaches of Fiduciary Duties

Sim Poh Ping v Winsta Holding Pte Ltd and another and other appeals [2020] SGCA 35

•

Bankruptcy Cases

18. Petitioner held not being unreasonable in refusing the debtors’ settlement offers

Re Dan Yin Ping (鄧燕萍) and Re Ng On Kwok (吳安國) [2020] HKCFI 621

19. Solicitor for the Bankrupt ordered to disclose all means of contacting the Bankrupt and a copy of the client ledger

Re Han Catherine (Bankrupt) [2020] 2 HKLRD 767

20. English Court satisfied that a payment constituted unfair preference but refused to grant restitutionary relief given payee’s change of position

Bucknall and another v Wilson [2020] EWHC 1200 (Ch)