Insolvency and Restructuring

Short Reads - Earlier this year, the District Court in The Hague ruled that the Dutch State is liable vis-à-vis the victims and surviving relatives of a 1992 plane crash in Faro, Portugal. The State was found liable because it is responsible for the information provided by the Dutch Aviation Safety Board (a government agency) to the victims and surviving relatives. This information, on the causes of the crash was deemed by the court to be incorrect and incomplete.

Short Reads - As mentioned in our earlier blog, the Dutch legislator has prepared a bill – the Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord) – which introduces a framework allowing debtors to restructure their debts outside formal insolvency proceedings (the “Dutch Scheme“).

Short Reads - Job van Hooff and Daisy Nijkamp, in collaboration with Lexology, will present a webinar on WHOA on 2 April 2020. During the webinar they will look at a new bill prepared by the Dutch legislature - the Act on the Confirmation of Private Restructuring Plans (Wet homologatie onder onderhand akkoord) - which introduces a framework that makes it possible for debtors to restructure their debts outside formal insolvency proceedings.

Short Reads - Recent measures taken by the Dutch government to contain the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 (a novel Coronavirus) have led to an increase in questions regarding the consequences for commercial contracts. These measures influence society as whole, and have a serious impact on a wide range of specific sectors and industries. These measures have put the performance of commercial contracts, spanning activities ranging from delivering supplies to operating flights, under pressure. The following may provide some helpful general guidance.

Short Reads - On 26 May 2020, the Dutch Parliament’s House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) adopted the Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord (“WHOA”)). The next step will see the WHOA put to vote in the Senate.

Short Reads - Two recent decisions from the Amsterdam Court of Appeal have confirmed that litigation vehicles cannot come empty-handed to the court, and should provide documentation regarding the assignments of claims they submit. The Dutch legal system allows companies and individuals to assign their claims to a “litigation vehicle” or “claims vehicle” that bundles those claims into a single action. In its decisions of 10 March 2020, the Court of Appeal ruled that it is up to litigation vehicles to prove that the assignments can be invoked against the debtor. 

Short Reads - The spread of the coronavirus may have some consequences that affect your ability to perform your obligations under your contracts, or your co-contractors’ ability to perform theirs. We provide some insight on a few pressing questions.

Short Reads - Door het gemak waarmee krediet kon worden verkregen en de extreem lage kosten ervan, hebben veel bedrijven grote leningen aangetrokken. De schuldenpositie van bedrijven is nog nooit zo groot geweest.