A basic tenet of bankruptcy law, premised on the legal separateness of a debtor prior to filing for bankruptcy and the estate created upon a bankruptcy filing, is that prepetition debts are generally treated differently than...more
3/2/2020
/ Administrative Expenses ,
Administrative Priority ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Bifurcation ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Congressional Intent ,
Debtors ,
Gross Receipts Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative History ,
Tax Liability
The Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 ("MPPAA") amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") and the Internal Revenue Code to make "trade[s] or business[es]" that are under "common...more
3/2/2020
/ Appeals ,
Business Formation ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Controlled Groups ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Partnership-in-Fact ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Sun Capital Partners ,
Withdrawal Liability
In the July/August 2019 issue of the Business Restructuring Review, we discussed a landmark decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in In re Ultra Petroleum Corp., 913 F.3d 533(5th Cir. 2019) ("Ultra I")....more
The Situation. In Ritzen Group, Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, LLC, the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether bankruptcy court orders conclusively denying relief from the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay are immediately...more
1/29/2020
/ Appeals ,
Automatic Stay ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure ,
Mootness ,
Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Right To Appeal ,
Ritzen Group Inc v Jackson Masonry LLC ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims
Chapter 11 Plan Distributions Are Not Collateral Covered by Intercreditor Agreement's Waterfall Provision -
In In re Energy Future Holdings Corp., 2019 WL 2535700 (3d Cir. June 19, 2019), a panel of the U.S. Court of...more
9/26/2019
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Reform ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Cross-Border ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Debtors ,
Financial Institutions ,
Insolvency ,
Trump Administration
In In re Energy Future Holdings Corp., 2019 WL 2535700 (3d Cir. June 19, 2019), a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that adequate protection payments made during a bankruptcy case and...more
In This Issue:
Washington District Court Overturns Approval of Third-Party Releases in a Settlement Agreement and Related Free-and-Clear Sale -
In In re Fraser’s Boiler Serv., Inc., 2019 WL 1099713 (D. Wash. Mar. 18,...more
8/21/2019
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Bankruptcy Discharge Order ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debt Collection ,
FERC ,
Foreign Debt ,
PG&E ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Taggart v Lorenzen
In In re Ultra Petroleum Corp., 913 F.3d 533(5th Cir. 2019), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a "make-whole," or "prepayment," premium owed on unsecured notes issued by a chapter 11 debtor...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
6/19/2019
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Intermediaries ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 546(e) ,
Split of Authority ,
Trustees
Amid the explosion of trading in claims against distressed and bankrupt entities, courts in recent years have issued numerous rulings of interest to both buyers and sellers. Notable decisions have addressed, among other...more
10/12/2018
/ Anti-Assignment Clauses ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Transfer Agreements ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Caveat Emptor ,
Chapter 11 ,
Disallowance Defense ,
Equitable Subordination ,
Promissory Notes ,
State Law Tort Claims ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
On February 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated ruling resolving a long-standing circuit split over the scope of the Bankruptcy Code’s "safe harbor" provision exempting certain securities transaction...more
4/19/2018
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Intermediaries ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 546(e) ,
Split of Authority
In U.S. Capital Bank N.A. v. Village at Lakeridge, LLC, No. 15-1509 (U.S. Mar. 5, 2018), the U.S. Supreme Court held that an appellate court should apply a deferential standard of review to a bankruptcy court's decision as to...more
3/15/2018
/ Appellate Review ,
Arms Length Transactions ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Clear Error Standard ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cramdown ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Debtor-Creditor ,
Non-Statutory Insider Status ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reorganizations ,
SCOTUS ,
US Bank National Association v Village at Lakeridge
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated ruling resolving a long-standing circuit split over the scope of the Bankruptcy Code's "safe harbor" provision exempting certain securities transaction payments from...more
3/8/2018
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Intermediaries ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 546(e) ,
Split of Authority ,
Trustees
In In re Ultra Petroleum Corp., 2017 BL 335015 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 21, 2017), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that certain private-placement noteholders were entitled to receive a...more
The Situation: In In re MPM Silicones, L.L.C., secured noteholders argued that replacement notes distributed to them under a cram-down chapter 11 plan should bear market-rate interest rather than the lower formula rate...more
10/26/2017
/ Appeals ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cramdown ,
Debtors ,
First-Lien ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 8-K ,
Interest Rates ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Mezzanine Lenders ,
Noteholders ,
Secured Notes ,
Subordination
The Situation: After a ruling in In re Ultra Petroleum Corp. by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, certain private-placement noteholders are entitled to a "make-whole" premium in excess of $200...more
On May 1, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Merit Management Group v. FTI Consulting, No. 16-784, on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals from the Seventh Circuit. See FTI Consulting, Inc. v. Merit Management...more
On May 1, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Merit Management Group v. FTI Consulting, No. 16-784, on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals from the Seventh Circuit. The Court's decision could resolve a circuit split...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 22, 2017, in Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp., that without the consent of affected creditors, bankruptcy courts may not approve "structured dismissals" providing for distributions that...more
3/27/2017
/ Absolute Priority Rule ,
Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consent ,
Czyzewski v Jevic Holding Corp ,
Priority Debt ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Structured Dismissals ,
WARN Act