Fairness & Solvency Opinions Shouldn't Be Overlooked Amid Restructuring Wave
Asset Protection 101: Are You and Your Family Protected from Litigation, Creditors, and Divorce?
Bill on Bankruptcy: Rakoff Reverses Himself in Madoff Case
As you know from our prior alerts, creditors of borrowers formed as Delaware LLCs (as opposed to corporations) lack standing under Delaware law to sue directors for breaching fiduciary duties even when, to the surprise of...more
Publicly, Diamond Finance Co. (“Diamond”) provided car loans to individuals with less-than-stellar credit. While Diamond did have “some actual business,” its purpose “quickly became a front to lure unsuspecting investors.”...more
One year ago, we wrote that 2022 would be remembered in the corporate bankruptcy world for the “crypto winter” that descended in November 2022 with the spectacular collapse of FTX Trading Ltd., Alameda Research, and...more
Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code’s “safe harbor” preventing avoidance in bankruptcy of certain securities, commodity, or forward-contract payments has long been a magnet for controversy. Several noteworthy court rulings...more
Section 544(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code enables a trustee to step into the shoes of a creditor and avoid a transfer “of an interest of the debtor in property” that an unsecured creditor could avoid under applicable state...more
AUTOMATIC STAY - 1.1 Covered Activities 1.1.a Court denies injunction against actions involving debtors’ affiliates. Shortly after filing their chapter 11 cases, the debtors in possession sought, in the alternative,...more
In this podcast, JAMS neutrals Judge Joan Feeney and Judge Phillip Shefferly share their thoughts on why mediation is a good tool to resolve bankruptcy disputes, provide listeners with a look into their own approaches to...more
Traditional avoidance actions under the Bankruptcy Code, i.e., preferences and fraudulent transfers, have laudable goals: (a) to provide equal treatment to creditors of an insolvent company and (b) to claw back otherwise...more
Amidst a global pandemic, there were plenty of interesting bankruptcy and restructuring events and changes that occurred in 2020. We saw new Bankruptcy Code amendments go into effect (through the Small Business Reorganization...more
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee to avoid certain transfers of a debtor's property and to recover the property or its value from the transferees is an essential tool in maximizing the value of a bankruptcy estate for the...more
Any creditor that has experienced more than a few customers or borrowers filing for bankruptcy is aware that there is a risk of being sued by a trustee to avoid transfers that the creditor received prior to the bankruptcy...more
Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code excepts certain transfers made to certain protected parties, under or in respect of securities contracts, from avoidance as preferences or constructively fraudulent transfers. A recent...more
Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code enables trustees to avoid certain pre-bankruptcy transfers of “an interest of the debtor in property,” where the transfer was intended to defraud creditors or where the transfer was made...more
The current state of the U.S. economy is relatively strong. That said, every economy remains subject to the normal ups and downs of the business cycle. Eventually, dark clouds will gather and businesses will be required to...more
Seventeen states now have statutes allowing for the creation of a domestic asset protection trust (“DAPT”), also sometimes referred to as a self settled spendthrift trust or a self settled asset protection trust. Although...more
Since the Delaware Supreme Court held in CML V, LLC v. Bax that creditors of a Delaware LLC lack standing to pursue derivative breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims, even if the LLC is insolvent or near insolvent, bankruptcy courts...more
Recently, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania clarified that funds returned to the debtor are not recoverable as intentional fraudulent transfers. See Holber v. Nikparvar (In re Incare, LLC),...more
Is a foreign online customer of a bankrupt goods supplier subject to personal jurisdiction in the United States, when sued by a bankruptcy trustee for fraudulent transfers? Yes, says the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern...more
Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code permits a bankruptcy trustee to avoid any transfer that would be avoidable by creditors under state fraudulent transfer law. Section 550 of the Bankruptcy Code permits the bankruptcy trustee...more
The United States Supreme Court recently declined to review a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit favorable to a bank regarding alleged fraudulent transfers to the bank. In doing so, the...more
The Fifth Circuit, in In the Matter of: ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (Tow v. Bulmahn, et. al.), dismissed breach of fiduciary duty claims and fraudulent transfer claims brought by a chapter 7 trustee relating to cash bonuses and...more
Starting on September 12, 2017, Peter Kravitz, as Settlement Trustee of the Samson Settlement Trust, filed approximately 293 complaints seeking the avoidance and recovery of allegedly preferential and/or fraudulent transfers...more
On July 19-21, 2017, David W. Carickhoff, in his capacity as Chapter 7 Trustee of the Estates of Univita Holdings, et al., filed approximately 46 complaints seeking the avoidance and recovery of allegedly preferential and/or...more
U.S. courts generally agree that the substantive consolidation should be applied sparingly, and even more so when substantive consolidation of debtors with non-debtors is sought. While many opinions address the grounds for...more
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana dismissed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee’s claims against officers and inside directors of ATP Oil & Gas Corporation in Tow v. Bulmahn on Wednesday. In Tow v....more