Unfair Preference
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Unfair Preference
An unfair preference (or "voidable preference") is a legal term arising in bankruptcy law where a person or company transfers assets or pays a debt to a creditor shortly before going into bankruptcy, that payment or transfer can be set aside on the application of the liquidator or trustee in bankruptcy as an unfair preference or simply a preference. Overview The law on unfair preferences varies from country to country, but characteristically, to set a transaction or payment aside as an unfair preference, the liquidator will need to show that: #the person or company was insolvent at the time the payment was made (either on the ''cash-flow'' test, or on the ''balance sheet'' test - it varies from country to country) #the person or company then went into bankruptcy within a specified time thereafter, usually referred to as the ''vulnerability period'' #the payment had the effect of putting the creditor in a better position than other unsecured creditors #in some jurisdictions, it is ...
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Bankruptcy Law
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor. Bankrupt is not the only legal status that an insolvent person may have, and the term ''bankruptcy'' is therefore not a synonym for insolvency. Etymology The word ''bankruptcy'' is derived from Italian ''banca rotta'', literally meaning "broken bank". The term is often described as having originated in renaissance Italy, where there allegedly existed the tradition of smashing a banker's bench if he defaulted on payment so that the public could see that the banker, the owner of the bench, was no longer in a condition to continue his business, although some dismiss this as a false etymology. History In Ancient Greece, bankruptcy did not exist. If a man owed and he could not pay, he and his wife, children or servants were forced int ...
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Floating Charge
A floating charge is a security interest over a fund of changing assets of a company or other legal person. Unlike a fixed charge, which is created over ascertained and definite property, a floating charge is created over property of an ambulatory and shifting nature, such as receivables and stock. The floating charge 'floats' or 'hovers' until the point at which it is converted ("crystallised") into a ''fixed charge'', attached to specific assets of the business. This crystallisation can be triggered by a number of events. In most common law jurisdictions it is an implied term in the security documents creating floating charges that a cessation of the company's right to deal with the assets (including by reason of insolvency proceedings) in the ordinary course of business leads to automatic crystallisation. Additionally, security documents will usually include express terms that a default by the person granting the security will trigger crystallisation. In most countries float ...
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Undervalue Transaction
An undervalue transaction is a transaction entered into by a company who subsequently goes into bankruptcy which the court orders be set aside, usually upon the application of a liquidator for the benefit of the debtor's creditors. This can occur where the transaction was seriously disadvantageous to the company and the company was insolvent or in immediate risk of becoming insolvent. Overview Under ordinary principles of contract law, the courts will not generally look into the adequacy of the consideration provided by either side. However, if a company is in real peril of going bankrupt, many legal systems provide for a mechanism which allows these transactions to be unwound, so as to prevent prejudice to the creditors of the company. Normally, for a transaction to be set aside as an undervalue transaction, the liquidator or equivalent must demonstrate that: #the consideration received by the company in the transaction, in money or money's worth is significantly less than the ...
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Fraudulent Transfer
A fraudulent conveyance, or fraudulent transfer, is an attempt to avoid debt by transferring money to another person or company. It is generally a civil, not a criminal matter, meaning that one cannot go to jail for it, but in some jurisdictions there is potential for criminal prosecution. It is generally treated as a civil cause of action that arises in debtor/ creditor relations, particularly with reference to insolvent debtors. The cause of action is typically brought by creditors or by bankruptcy trustees. Overview A transfer will be fraudulent if made with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any creditor. Thus, if a transfer is made with the specific intent to avoid satisfying a specific liability, then actual intent is present. However, when a debtor prefers to pay one creditor instead of another, that is not a fraudulent transfer. There are two types of fraudulent transfer—''actual fraud'' and ''constructive fraud''. ''Actual fraud'' typically involves a debtor ...
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Recording (real Estate)
The vast majority of states in the United States employ a system of recording legal instruments (otherwise known as deeds registration) that affect the title of real estate as the exclusive means for publicly documenting land titles and interests. This system differs significantly from land registration systems, such as the Torrens system that have been adopted in a few states. The principal difference is that the recording system does not determine who owns the title or interest involved, which is ultimately determined through litigation in the courts. The system provides a framework for determining who the law will protect in relation to those titles and interests when a dispute arises. Creation The recording systems are established by state statute. They usually provide for the office of a recorder in each county or other jurisdiction. The names of these offices are usually the "Recorder of Deeds" or something similar. State statutes also prescribe the following elements: #Wh ...
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Bankruptcy In The United States
In the United States, bankruptcy is largely governed by federal law, commonly referred to as the "Bankruptcy Code" ("Code"). The United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4) authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States". Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, including through adoption of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, as amended, codified in Title 11 of the United States Code and the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). Some laws relevant to bankruptcy are found in other parts of the United States Code. For example, bankruptcy crimes are found in Title 18 of the United States Code (Crimes). Tax implications of bankruptcy are found in Title 26 of the United States Code ( Internal Revenue Code), and the creation and jurisdiction of bankruptcy courts are found in Title 28 of the United States Code (Judiciary and Judicial procedure). Bankrupt ...
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Re MC Bacon Ltd (No 1)
''Re MC Bacon Ltd'' [1990] BCLC 324 is a leading UK insolvency law case, concerning transactions at an undervalue (Insolvency Act 1986, s 238) and Unfair preference, voidable preferences (Insolvency Act 1986, s 239). The court held that where a person granting security to a bank under commercial pressure from the bank, there was no "intention to prefer" the bank under the meaning in the Act. The granting of the security was a response to the commercial pressure, and not an intention to prefer one creditor above others. Although the decision is only a first instance decision in the United Kingdom, it has been followed in a number of other jurisdictions in relation to the proper determination of intention to prefer. Facts MC Bacon Ltd imported bacon, its main office on 192-194 Trundley’s Road, London. Started in 1973 it did normal bacon and then from 1983 diversified into gammon steaks, joints and rashered bacon. But in 1986 Dee Corporation, its principal supplier withdrew. Two ...
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Insolvency Act 1986
The Insolvency Act 1986c 45 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides the legal platform for all matters relating to personal and corporate insolvency in the UK. History The Insolvency Act 1986 followed the publication and most of the findings in the Cork Report, including the introduction of the Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) and Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) procedures. Elements of the Act have been updated by the Enterprise Act 2002 which came into enforcement on 1 April 2004 and introduced amongst other things the popular "out-of-court" administration route.Lyndon Norley, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP and Joseph Swanson and Peter Marshall, Houlihan Lokey (2008). A Practitioner's Guide to Corporate Restructuring. City & Financial Publishing, 1st edition Those considering the main Act should also refer to the Insolvency Rules 1986 and numerous Regulations and other amending legislation since 1986, and also to the best practice which ...
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Ordinary Course Of Business
In United States law, the ordinary course of business (OCB) covers the usual transactions, customs and practices of a certain business and of a certain firm. This term is used particularly to judge the validity of certain transactions. It is used in several different sections of the Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ... of the United States.Section 1-201 of the Uniform Commercial Codedefines a "Buyer in the ordinary course of business" by a four-part test: # a person that buys goods in good faith, # without knowledge that the sale violates the rights of another person in the goods e.g._a_ e.g._a_security_interest">/nowiki>e.g._a_security_interest.html" ;"title="security_interest.html" ;"title="/nowiki>e.g. a security interest">/nowiki>e.g. a se ...
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Asset Protection
Asset protection (sometimes also referred to as ''debtor-creditor law'') is a set of legal techniques and a body of statutory and common law dealing with protecting assets of individuals and business entities from civil money judgments. The goal of asset protection planning is to insulate assets from claims of creditors without perjury or tax evasion. Asset protection consists of methods available to protect assets from liabilities arising elsewhere. It should not be confused with ''limiting liability'', which concerns the ability to stop or constrain liability to the asset or activity from which it arises. Assets that are shielded from creditors by law are few: common examples include some home equity, certain retirement plans and interests in LLCs and limited partnerships (and even these are not always unreachable). Assets that are almost always unreachable are those to which one does not hold legal title. In many cases it is possible to vest legal title to personal assets in a tr ...
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Fraudulent Conveyance
A fraudulent conveyance, or fraudulent transfer, is an attempt to avoid debt by transferring money to another person or company. It is generally a civil, not a criminal matter, meaning that one cannot go to jail for it, but in some jurisdictions there is potential for criminal prosecution. It is generally treated as a civil cause of action that arises in debtor/creditor relations, particularly with reference to insolvent debtors. The cause of action is typically brought by creditors or by bankruptcy trustees. Overview A transfer will be fraudulent if made with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any creditor. Thus, if a transfer is made with the specific intent to avoid satisfying a specific liability, then actual intent is present. However, when a debtor prefers to pay one creditor instead of another, that is not a fraudulent transfer. There are two types of fraudulent transfer—''actual fraud'' and ''constructive fraud''. ''Actual fraud'' typically involves a debtor who ...
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