How is litigation involving spouses handled in Arizona?
Bill on Bankruptcy: Junk Debt Interest Rates at 30-Year Low
A Michigan bankruptcy court held that a debtor-franchisee seeking to reject a franchise agreement for an auto repair center could not reject either a stand-alone confidentiality agreement with the franchisor or the...more
Financial distress persists in the commercial real estate market, raising the prospects that property owners and landlords could seek relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Bankruptcy Code contains numerous...more
The ordinary course of business, new value, and contemporaneous exchange for new value defenses are the most frequently used defenses in a preference action. However, there are additional, less common defenses that a...more
Sales under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code have become commonplace in bankruptcy cases as a mechanism to liquidate a debtor's assets and maximize value for creditors. Selling the debtor's assets to a third party offers...more
A bankruptcy sale is an opportunity to potentially acquire assets at distressed pricing. A bankruptcy sale also presents prospective bidders with a level playing field to conduct due diligence, submit a bid, and compete...more
A Michigan bankruptcy court recently granted debtor/franchisee Empower Central Michigan Inc.’s motion to reject a franchise agreement as an executory contract but found that a non-compete clause and a related confidentiality...more
The transition to online shopping, interest rate increases, labor costs, maturing debt and rising inflation have collectively taken a significant toll on the retail industry, contributing to store closures and a growing...more
Three years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States and its effects are still being felt today. Even though lockdown measures have largely disappeared and many workers have returned to the office,...more
In a recent decision, the Second Circuit held that only parties with the right to pursue a breach of contract claim under an executory contract or unexpired lease have the right to demand a cure payment in the event the...more
Bankruptcy Code Section 365(d)(5) provides personal property lessors with important rights concerning lease payments that come due after a lessee commences a U.S. bankruptcy proceeding. Generally, that section requires that...more
As uncertain economic times continue, particularly in the retail sector, commercial tenant bankruptcies are on the rise. Goodwin’s Financial Restructuring group presents 10 questions (and related practice points) for...more
The recent decision of the Ninth Circuit in In re Hawkeye Entertainment, LLC contains a few important takeaways with respect to the treatment of executory contracts and unexpired leases under section 365 of the Bankruptcy...more
The intersection between Medicare and state Medicaid regulatory schemes on the one hand and bankruptcy proceedings on the other continues to be an interesting, often highly contested, source of bankruptcy litigation. In...more
To encourage parties to transact with debtors in bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Code in corporate bankruptcies provides highest priority to “administrative expenses,” which include “the actual, necessary costs and expenses of...more
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that an agreement between a debtor, a surety, and third-party beneficiaries was not an executory contract and, thus, was ineligible to pass-through the...more
This entry is part of Nelson Mullins’s ongoing “Bankruptcy Basics” blog series that is intended to address foundational aspects of bankruptcy for non-bankruptcy practitioners and professionals. This entry will discuss how...more
This term, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has authored a pair of opinions related to arbitration. The first of these decisions, Badgerow v. Walters, 20-1143, 142 S. Ct. 1310 (2022) came down on March 31, 2022, where...more
This entry is part of Nelson Mullins’s ongoing “Bankruptcy Basics” blog series that is intended to address foundational aspects of bankruptcy for non-bankruptcy practitioners and professionals. This entry will discuss lease...more
In FERC v. Ultra Resources, Inc. (In re Ultra Petroleum Corp.), 2022 WL 763836 (5th Cir. Mar. 14, 2022), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a long-awaited ruling on an appeal from a bankruptcy court order...more
1. AUTOMATIC STAY - 1.1 Covered Activities - Taggart v. Lorenzen standard applies to stay violation in a corporate case. The debtor sold assets prepetition. After the petition date, the buyer demanded payment of certain...more
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to assume, assume and assign, or reject executory contracts and unexpired leases is an important tool designed to promote a "fresh start" for...more
One year ago, we wrote that, unlike in 2019, when the large business bankruptcy landscape was generally shaped by economic, market, and leverage factors, the COVID-19 pandemic dominated the narrative in 2020....more
In Highland Capital Mgmt. v. Dondero (In re Highland Capital Mgmt.), Case No. 21-03007-sgj (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2021), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas held that a debtor could not be compelled to...more
AVOIDING POWERS - Fraudulent Transfers - Trustee may avoid transfer as actual fraudulent transfer only if ultimate decision-maker has fraudulent intent. Before entering into a two-step LBO transaction, the debtor formed...more
Most every business relies on executory contracts, which often contain at least one bankruptcy provision. It is important for businesses to be aware of the common bankruptcy provisions that cannot be enforced in a bankruptcy...more