Judgment Hand Down: Cithara v Haimen

The BVI Commercial Court has released its judgment in Cithara v Haimen Zhongnan.

The BVI Court held that an ultimate beneficial noteholder under a New York law governed note structure is a contingent creditor for the purposes of an application for the appointment of liquidators under the BVI insolvency legislation, following the UK Supreme Court decision in In re Nortel GmbH; Bloom v Pensions Regulator [2013] UKSC 52, [2014] AC 209.

The Court considered numerous authorities, including the recent decision of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands in In the Matter of Shinsun Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd (FSD 192 of 2022), which the Court concluded should not be followed in the BVI.

South Square’s Peter Burgess appeared for the successful Applicant, instructed by Eleanor Morgan and Sophie Christodoulou at Mourant.

Read the full judgment here.