Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Companies Act 1993

Compromises with creditors

232: Powers of court

You could also call this:

“Court can assist with company debt arrangements and ensure fairness”

If someone wants to make a deal with the people a company owes money to, the court can help in a few ways. The person suggesting the deal or the company can ask the court for help.

The court can give directions about how to follow the rules for making this deal. They can also change or remove some of these rules if they think it’s fair to do so.

The court can also order that for a certain time, no one can try to make the company pay its debts. This time starts when people are told about the proposed deal and ends no more than 10 working days after they’re told how the voting on the deal went.

However, if someone has a special right to take the company’s property because the company owes them money, they can still do this even when the court has said no one else can try to get their money.

If you’re someone the company owes money to and you were allowed to vote on the deal, you can ask the court for help if you think something wasn’t fair. You might do this if you weren’t told enough about the meeting, if something else important wasn’t done properly, or if you voted against the deal and think it’s not fair to you or people like you. But you have to ask for this help within 10 working days of being told how the voting went.

If the court agrees with you, they might say you don’t have to follow the deal, or they might do something else to make things fair.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM321175.

Topics:
Business > Industry rules
Business > Fair trading
Money and consumer rights > Banking and loans
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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231: Variation of compromise, or

“How to change an approved compromise with creditors”

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233: Effect of compromise in liquidation of company, or

“How a compromise affects a company in liquidation”

Part 14 Compromises with creditors

232Powers of court

  1. On the application of the proponent or the company, the court may—

  2. give directions in relation to a procedural requirement imposed by this Part, or waive or vary any such requirement, if satisfied that it would be just to do so; or
    1. order that, during a period specified in the order, beginning not earlier than the date on which notice was given of the proposed compromise and ending not later than 10 working days after the date on which notice was given of the result of the voting on it,—
      1. proceedings in relation to a debt owing by the company be stayed; or
        1. a creditor refrain from taking any other measure to enforce payment of a debt owing by the company.

        2. Nothing in subsection (1)(b) affects the right of a secured creditor during that period to take possession of, realise, or otherwise deal with, property of the company over which that creditor has a charge.

        3. If the court is satisfied, on the application of a creditor of a company who was entitled to vote on a compromise that—

        4. insufficient notice of the meeting or of the matter required to be notified under section 229 was given to that creditor; or
          1. there was some other material irregularity in obtaining approval of the compromise; or
            1. in the case of a creditor who voted against the compromise, the compromise is unfairly prejudicial to that creditor, or to the class of creditors to which that creditor belongs,—
                1. the court may order that the creditor is not bound by the compromise or make such other order as it thinks fit.

              1. An application under subsection (3) must be made not later than 10 working days after the date on which notice of the result of the voting was given to the creditor.