Offshore Litigation Blog

In a recent decision of the Hong Kong Court of First Instance in In the Matter of Dexin China Holdings Company Ltd, the Court considered an application for a validation order in respect of the transfer of shares in a Cayman company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange facing a winding up petition (the Petition) in Hong Kong based on an unsatisfied statutory demand.

In the recent case of Re UKCloud Ltd (In Liquidation), the English High Court examined whether the effect of a debenture granted by the Company gave the benefit of a fixed or floating charge over its internet protocol (IP) addresses. The distinction was important, impacting recoveries for the Company’s unsecured creditors.

In another major success for a Harneys team run out of its London office, Justice Mangatal’s judgment is the first to clarify the proper interpretation of s49 of the BVI Business Companies Act 2004 (BCA). The judgment resolves a longstanding question as to the necessary formalities for a person to become a shareholder in a BVI company.

In the recent decision of Re C-Retail Ltd, the English High Court ordered the disclosure of documents to assist a creditor to decide whether to support or oppose a Part 26A restructuring plan.

In the High Court, Lifestyle Equities, (Lifestyle) successfully claimed that Hornby had infringed their trademarks. Lifestyle also successfully sued the Ahmeds personally, alleging they were jointly liable by sharing a common design with Hornby. Trademark infringement uses strict liability, which meant that there was no need for Lifestyle to prove that the Ahmeds knew of or intended the infringement.

The increasing adoption of digital assets like cryptocurrencies has highlighted the need for clarity on how insolvency laws apply in this new sector.

In the recent decision of White v O N Drilling Ltd, the Singapore Court of Appeal upheld the grant of a permanent injunction restraining a former director of the Respondent companies from purporting to act on the Respondents’ behalf in maintaining Mexican restructuring proceedings on the basis that the comity doctrine did not apply because the interim injunctions were not anti-suit injunctions and the court would prioritise protecting its own jurisdiction and orders.

Justice Parker’s decision of In North Sound Pharmaceuticals Inc concerns an appeal against the rejection of a proof of debt in a liquidation. The judgment highlights a number of procedural and practical considerations for would-be appellants and their advisors alike.

In the recent decision of In the Matter of Bo Run SPC, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands considered whether it was permissible to file a composite petition to appoint receivers to a number of segregated portfolios within a single segregated portfolio company as opposed to filing separate petitions for each segregated portfolio.