Bankruptcy | JD Supra

Speakers Recommend Chapter 11 Changes to Effect Safer, More Efficient Proceedings

by Bernstein Shur on 5/25/2013

NEW YORK — Any revisions to the federal Bankruptcy Code's treatment of qualified financial contacts should amend the Code's safe harbors to narrow preferential treatment for counterparties while retaining the Code's push to...more

In re School Specialty, Inc., Case No. 13-10125 (KJC) (Bankr. D. Del. Apr. 22, 2013)

by Marc Skapof | BakerHostetler on 5/24/2013

In an age of historically low interest rates, lenders rely on fee income and other devices to enhance their returns. One of these mechanisms -- and one that can have dramatic consequences for a borrower -- is the inclusion of...more

Illinois Legislature and Court Clarifies Confusion on Mortgage Requirements after In re Crane

by Blake Schulman, Larry Woodard | Miller Canfield on 5/24/2013

A new Illinois law will close a loophole through which some mortgages could be subject to avoidance in bankruptcy. The loophole, created by U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s (C.D. Illinois) 2012 In re Crane opinion, allowed a...more

Lenders Beware: Debt Can Now Be Recharacterized as Equity in the Ninth Circuit

by Ted Fates, Heather Riley | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 5/23/2013

For the last 27 years, bankruptcy courts in the Ninth Circuit consistently held that debt could not be recharacterized as equity unless the movant proved inequitable conduct by the debt holder. On April 30, 2013, the Ninth...more

Incentive Awards Corrupted Class Action Settlement By Undermining Adequacy Of Class Representatives And Counsel

by June D. Coleman, Danielle Teeters | Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 5/23/2013

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently considered “the issue of whether class representatives and class counsel are adequate where the settlement agreement conditions payment of incentive awards on...more

Dewey's Bankruptcy Lawyer: More Large Law Firms Will Fail [Video]

by Bloomberg Law on 5/23/2013

May 23 (Bloomberg Law) -- While failed law firms make for notoriously difficult bankrupty cases, Dewey & LeBoeuf's time in bankruptcy court was quicker and easier than other notable law firms. Joe Samet, head of restructuring...more

Bill on Bankruptcy: The Market's Unquenchable Thirst for Junk [Video]

by Bloomberg Law on 5/22/2013

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc. and Ahern Rentals Inc. are prime examples of the frothy market where junk-bond investors are fearless in the face of risk, as Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia and Bloomberg News...more

Q&A With Morrison & Foerster's Deanne Maynard

by Morrison & Foerster LLP on 5/22/2013

Deanne E. Maynard is a partner in Morrison & Foerster LLP's Washington, D.C., office. She chairs the firm's appellate and U.S. Supreme Court practice group and is a former assistant to the solicitor general at the United...more

Historical Tort System Claim Values Cannot Be Reduced By "Nuisance" Settlements and "Implicit Defense Costs" To Determine Present...

by Timothy Durken on 5/22/2013

Delaware Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald in the bankruptcies of Specialty Products Holding Corp. (a/k/a RPM, Inc.) and Bondex International, Inc. rejected the Debtors’ “novel” claim estimation approach that reduced from...more

The Stockton Saga Continues: Untouchable Pensions on the Chopping Block?

by Barbara Shreero | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 5/22/2013

Judge Christopher M. Klein's decision to accept the City of Stockton's petition for bankruptcy on April 1, 2013 set the stage for a battle over whether public workers' pensions can be reduced through municipal reorganization....more

Lehman Reaching Beyond the Grave

by Russell Koonin, Robert Siegel | Bilzin Sumberg Mortgage Repurchase Group on 5/22/2013

As widely reported, in the latest Lehman bankruptcy “fundraiser,” managers of the Lehman estate are now demanding millions of dollars from non-profit retirement homes, colleges and hospitals. Lehman claims that it was somehow...more

Documenting Your Income in Chapter 13

by Jeff Field | Jeff Field & Associates on 5/21/2013

Chapter 13 is an option that allows you to consolidate your debt through a repayment plan. Your plan payment will be driven by your income, your assets and your debts. As you might imagine, your income must be regular an...more

Involuntary Bankruptcy Petitions Dismissed Where Alter Ego Status Was Disputed

by Bruce Sabados, Allison Wuertz | Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP on 5/21/2013

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York granted motions to dismiss involuntary Chapter 7 petitions filed against TPG Troy LLC and T3 Troy LLC (the Troy Entities). Petitioners filed numerous...more

The Bankruptcy Trustee in Chapters 7 & 13

by Jeff Field | Jeff Field & Associates on 5/21/2013

Bankruptcy cases are administered by trustees appointed by the Office of the U.S. trustee, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Typically, the debtor never has to appear before a judge. So who is this...more

Mississippi District Court Defers to New York Court in Bond Action

by Bruce Sabados, Allison Wuertz | Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP on 5/21/2013

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi denied the motion of defendant ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation (ACA) to dismiss a class action complaint, finding that the issues were previously...more

Rating Agency Developments - May 20, 2013

by Orrick - Structured Finance Group on 5/20/2013

On May 17, DBRS released its criteria for rating market-linked securities. On May 17, DBRS released a criteria report relating to Canadian bankruptcy and restructuring legal considerations. On May 15, Moody’s released its...more

Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest - May 17, 2013

by Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP on 5/20/2013

In this issue: - CFTC Adopts Final Rules for Execution Facilities and Other Matters - FINRA Issues Interpretive Guidance on Use of Back Tested Index Data by ETPs - Mississippi District Court Defers to New...more

Ninth Circuit Overrules Longstanding (But Questionable) Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Precedent to Allow Bankruptcy Court to...

by Kevin Coleman, Valerie Peo | Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP on 5/20/2013

Bankruptcy trustees and lenders to a potentially insolvent debtor — particularly any lender who has or intends to acquire an equity stake in the borrower — should take note of a recent decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court...more