Luke Zadkovich’s personal thoughts on the current crisis.   We are all trying to come to terms with the devastating effect of the global pandemic.  By communicating, we can hopefully share our concerns, come together and be part of the solution.   Stay safe, keep healthy.

Fraudulent asset transfers   Part 14 of our series on the tools and strategies for how international businesses can deal with an economic crisis.   Sadly, for some businesses, the economic crisis will put their backs against the wall. In those circumstances, some parties will be tempted to hide assets, rather than be exposed to liability. Following the financial collapse of 2008/2009, we saw an increase in fraudulent transfers.    Tim McGovern has experience securing claims against assets that have been the subject of such fraudulent transfers, including an action against a publicly traded entity in respect of a USD 70 million liability.  Tim sets out when and how these assets can be traced, so that they find their way back to the true creditor(s). For further information please contact Timothy McGovern or anyone from the ZFZ team to discuss this, or any of the other topics in the video series.

Bankruptcy proceedings   Part 13 in our series on how to deal with the economic crisis – a guide for international businesses.   Edward Floyd, founding Partner at ZFZ, addresses US bankruptcy proceedings in light of recent events and gives an overview of the inner workings of Title 11 of the US Code.   What protections can a creditor rely on when a counterparty is insolvent? This is a central consideration in protecting a party’s exposure in what is at best a timid market and may be a full-blown financial crisis. The US scheme also covers the handling of foreign bankruptcy proceedings and knowing the areas of law and issues where to stand your ground is key to maximize a creditor’s chances of prevailing and finding some measure of recovery in the collective proceeding that is bankruptcy. Having skilled counsel provide timely and dynamic advice as counterparty risk increases or defaults become apparent, can be of immense benefit to creditors.   ZFZ has been very active in this area.  We have been involved in high profile bankruptcies and are happy to discuss the cross-section between maritime law and bankruptcy. For further information please contact Ed Floyd or anyone from the ZFZ team to discuss this, or any of the other topics in the video series.

Pre-action discovery   This is Part 6 of our series on the tools and strategies that international companies can use to protect their positions in the current economic situation.    Eva-Maria Mayer explains a useful tool to gain access to the often much broader reel of discoverable evidence under the U.S. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure while litigating abroad.    28 U.S.C. 1782 provides parties in a foreign proceeding with a tool to gain access to the U.S. discovery rules. Such an application can be brought by a party to a foreign litigation against another party in such litigation or against a third-party in the district of the federal court where the application is being brought.    The significant aspect of such an application is that it is not required that the discovery sought be admissible in the foreign tribunal – such determination is left to be made by such a foreign tribunal. This leads to parties gaining access to a much vaster array of discoverable materials than would often be the case in the jurisdiction where the foreign proceedings are taking place.   Keeping in mind certain restrictions, and of course, meeting all required elements this can be a very useful tool in the age over globalization and ever growing international commercial agreements and disputes. For further information please contact Eva-Maria Mayer or anyone from the ZFZ team to discuss this, or any of the other topics in the video series.