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
We have previously blogged about the section 546(e) defense to a trustee’s avoidance powers under the Bankruptcy Code. A trustee has broad powers to set aside certain transfers made by debtors before bankruptcy. See 11 U.S.C....more
Joining the Eighth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a debtor or trustee can sell its avoidance actions to third-party, non-estate representatives. See Briar Capital...more
Parties structuring certain financial transactions to comply with the Bankruptcy Code safe harbor provisions, including protections from the avoidance powers in Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code, must be cognizant of recent...more
The scope of the Bankruptcy Code's "safe harbor" shielding certain securities, commodity, or forward-contract payments from avoidance as fraudulent transfers has long been a magnet for controversy, particularly after the U.S....more
When leveraged buyouts (“LBOs”) fail, the selling shareholders are litigation targets. A common suit is a claim by a bankruptcy trustee asserting constructive fraudulent transfer claims seeking to claw-back payments to the...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
The English court has recently provided some much needed clarity on when banks and other financial institutions may be put on inquiry that a payment instruction is an attempt to misappropriate the payor’s funds, and so should...more
After more than a decade, litigation resulting from the failed leveraged buyout (LBO) of media giant Tribune Company has finally drawn to a close. On Feb. 22, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the latest...more
So, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (“Comptroller”) says you owe state tax. If the deficiency determination hasn’t yet become final, you still may be able to challenge the underlying tax liability (for more on that,...more
The collapse of a Ponzi scheme usually follows a familiar pattern. When the scheme is exposed, the company created by the schemer—which is usually little more than a sham entity—is placed into receivership or declares...more
In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit made headlines when it ruled that creditors' state law fraudulent transfer claims arising from the 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO") of Tribune Co. ("Tribune") were...more
On December 19, 2019, the Second Circuit held that appellants’ state law constructive fraudulent transfer claims were preempted by virtue of the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbors that exempt transfers made in connection with a...more
Media outlets recently reported that Barbara Corcoran, one of the judges on the popular ABC show “Shark Tank,” was the victim of a “spear phishing” scam. See, e.g.,...more
We have noodled on the impact that the Supreme Court’s decision in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc., which held that the safe harbor provided in Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code does not apply when the...more
As we had anticipated in our prior client alerts, the “customer” safe harbor defense to constructive fraudulent conveyance claims challenging securities transactions — which was flagged by the U.S. Supreme Court in Merit...more
On December 19, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion (the “2019 Opinion”) arising out of the In re Tribune Company Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation,[i] finding that Tribune Company, which employed...more
In In re Tribune Co. Fraudulent Conveyance Litig., 2019 WL 1771786 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 23, 2019), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a litigation trustee’s motion to amend a complaint seeking to...more
In March 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc., unanimously affirming the Seventh Circuit, holding that transfers are not protected from avoidance under the...more
A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has breathed new life into the Bankruptcy Code Section 546(e)’s securities transaction safe harbor for fraudulent conveyance actions. Judge...more
On April 23, 2019, Judge Cote of the District Court for the SDNY, issued an opinion in In re Tribune Company Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation, finding that the Tribune Company, which employed Computershare Trust Company...more
In its ruling in FTI Consulting, Inc. v. Sweeney (In re Centaur, LLC), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware addressed the Supreme Court’s recent clarification of the scope of Bankruptcy Code Section...more
In one of the first applications of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the scope of section 546(e) in Merit Management, Delaware Bankruptcy Court Judge Carey found that section 546(e)’s safe harbor did not apply to fraudulent...more
According to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) states that the main focus for Financial Institution ought to be on the reporting of suspicious activities....more
On April 3, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order that, in light of its recent ruling in Merit Management Group LP v. FTI Consulting Inc., 138 S. Ct. 883, No. 16-784 (Feb. 27, 2018), the Court would defer consideration...more