Latest Legal Commentaries
Friday, September 22, 2023
Directors’ Duties to Creditors in an Insolvency Situation
Notes of lecture to Lawyers and Accountants specializing in Trust law (19 September 2023)
Trading while insolvent
Two-fold insolvency test: (1) balance sheet (assets and liabilities) (2) liquidity (paying debts as they fall due
What are directors’ duties
largely statutory – originated in Chancery Courts in England as fiduciary in nature – directors entrusted with company assets. (The leading exposition of directors’ duties was that of Romer J in Re City Equitable Fire Insurance Company Ltd. [1925] 1 Ch. 407: duties are fiduciary in nature but directors are not trustees (at 426).)
Companies Act 1993, (relevantly to present discussion) sections More...
Friday, August 18, 2023
Redundancy, Good faith and Employment Law
These are troubled times. Companies are seeking to cut costs and
restructuring and reduction of their work force is an obvious way of doing so.
Redundancy is the outcome. Unlike many countries, New Zealand lacks any
statute that deals specifically with employers’ obligations and employees’
rights in a redundancy situation. For that reason, a recent Judgment of the
Employment Court delivered by former President of the New Zealand Law
Society, Judge Kathryn Beck – New Zealand Steel Limited v. Haddad [2023]
NZEmpC 57 (5 April 2023) - will be of interest. It goes a long way to filling the
gap More...