On June 6, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a much-awaited decision, Siegel v. Fitzgerald, No. 21-441, __. U.S. __, 2022 WL 1914098 (U.S. June 6, 2022), holding unconstitutional certain aspects of Congress’s 2017 amendment...more
Large employers intending to lay off a significant number of their employees are required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (the "WARN Act") to give the targeted employees 60 days' advance...more
FIFTH CIRCUIT WEIGHS IN ON BANKRUPTCY ASSET SALES FREE AND CLEAR OF LEASEHOLD INTERESTS -
The ability of a trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) to sell bankruptcy estate assets “free and clear” of competing...more
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to avoid fraudulent transfers is an important tool to promote the bankruptcy policies of equality of distribution among creditors and maximizing...more
MODIFICATION OF SECURED LOAN UNDER CRAMDOWN CHAPTER 11 PLAN WARRANTED DUE TO PLAN FEASIBILITY THREAT -
Many recent court rulings concerning the treatment of secured creditors under a chapter 11 plan have focused on...more
3/31/2022
/ Absolute Priority Rule ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Certiorari ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cramdown ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Foreign Bankruptcies ,
Hertz ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Reorganizations ,
SCOTUS
Perhaps surprisingly given the rarity of such cases, a handful of high-profile court rulings recently have addressed whether a solvent chapter 11 debtor is obligated to pay postpetition, pre-effective date interest ("pendency...more
The finality of sales of assets in bankruptcy is an indispensable feature of U.S. bankruptcy law, designed to maximize the value of a bankruptcy estate as expeditiously as possible for the benefit of all stakeholders....more
1/28/2022
/ 363 Sales ,
Appeals ,
Asset Purchaser ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Dismissals ,
Equitable Mootness ,
Good Faith ,
Mootness ,
Sale of Assets ,
Statutory Interpretation
New York Bankruptcy Court Rules That Good Faith Is Not The Gatekeeper To Chapter 15 -
Despite the absence of any explicit directive in the Bankruptcy Code, it is well understood that a debtor must file a chapter 11...more
11/10/2021
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Good Faith ,
Insolvency ,
Leveraged Buyout
In yet another chapter in the tortured saga of the fallout from the failed 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO") of media giant The Tribune Co. ("Tribune") in a transaction orchestrated by real-estate mogul Sam Zell, the U.S. Court...more
11/10/2021
/ Bankrtupcy Code Section 550 ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Breach of Duty ,
Chapter 11 ,
Citigroup ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Stock ,
ESOP ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Section 548 ,
The Tribune Company ,
Unregistered Securities
Secured Lender’s Credit Bid Right In Bankruptcy Sale Denied -
A secured creditor’s right to “credit bid” the amount of its allowed claim in a bankruptcy sale of its collateral is an important creditor protection codified...more
Whether a contract is "executory" such that it can be assumed, rejected, or assigned in bankruptcy is a question infrequently addressed by the circuit courts of appeals. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit...more
9/21/2021
/ 363 Sales ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Contract Terms ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Executory Contracts ,
Film Industry ,
Materiality ,
Profits ,
Section 365 ,
Work Made For Hire Doctrine
Chapter 15 Update: U.S. Bankruptcy Court Refuses To Enforce Order Approving Indonesian Debt Restructuring Plan Due To Third-party Releases -
Cross-border bankruptcy cases filed in the U.S. under chapter 15 of the...more
7/23/2021
/ Article III ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Comity ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Foreign Bankruptcies ,
Restructuring ,
Safe Harbors ,
Setoff Rights ,
Sharia Law ,
Standing ,
Subordination Agreement ,
Third-Party ,
Tolling
In In re Arcapita Bank B.S.C., 2021 WL 1603608 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Apr. 23, 2021), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York addressed the interaction between purported setoff rights arising under...more
In This Issue:
First Impressions: Third Circuit Scuttles Triangular Setoff in Bankruptcy -
In In re Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., 990 F.3d 748 (3d Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled as a...more
5/27/2021
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Mootness ,
Mutuality ,
Safe Harbors
To encourage creditors, equity interest holders, indenture trustees, and unofficial committees to take actions that benefit a chapter 9 or chapter 11 estate, the Bankruptcy Code confers administrative expense status on claims...more
In This Issue:
Tenant's Election to Retain Possession of Rejected Lease Premises Preserves Obligations Under Related Agreements -
Section 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code provides special protection for tenants if a...more
Section 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code provides special protection for tenants if a trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") rejects an unexpired lease under which the debtor was the lessor by giving the tenant the...more
One year ago, we wrote that the large business bankruptcy landscape in 2019 was generally shaped by economic, market, and leverage factors, with notable exceptions for disastrous wildfires, liabilities arising from the opioid...more
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to avoid fraudulent transfers is an important tool promoting the bankruptcy policies of equality of distribution among creditors and maximizing...more
2/9/2021
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Trustees ,
Chapter 7 ,
Debtors ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Section 548 ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tax Avoidance ,
UFTA
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to obtain credit or financing during the course of a bankruptcy case is often crucial to the debtor's prospects for either maintaining operations...more
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recently added some weight to the majority rule on a hot-button issue for claims traders. In In re Firestar Diamond, Inc., 615 B.R. 161 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2020),...more
In This Issue:
Eighth Circuit Rules that Bankruptcy Code's Cap on Lease Damage Claims Applies to Fraudulent Transfer Judgment -
In Lariat Cos. v. Wigley (In re Wigley), 951 F.3d 967 (8th Cir. 2020), the U.S. Court of...more
9/1/2020
/ Bankruptcy Plans ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Reorganizations ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities Transactions ,
Successor Liability
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina recently added some weight to the majority rule on an issue that has long divided bankruptcy and appellate courts. In In re Southern Produce Distributors,...more
9/1/2020
/ Adversary Proceedings ,
Asset Transfer ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Disallowance Defense ,
Disgorgement ,
Equitable Subordination ,
Reorganizations
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
For nearly 25 years, courts in the Ninth Circuit have consistently refused to sanction nonconsensual third-party releases as part of chapter 11 plans. A ruling recently handed down by the U.S. District Court for the District...more
8/20/2019
/ Asbestos Litigation ,
Asbestos Trust Claims ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Reorganizations ,
Section 363 ,
Successor Liability ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
Third-Party Release Agrements