Perfect your liens on time or you may lose them. That’s the painful lesson U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen B. Owens taught Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. in her recent decision.
Ruling on plaintiff-debtor Southland Royalty...more
We have blogged previously about section 546(e), the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor for certain transfers otherwise subject to avoidance as preferences or fraudulent transfers. See 11 U.S.C. § 546(e). Among the transfers...more
Every so often, we post an article on case law discussing proofs of claim. The decisions often contain basic but important information about the timing and manner of claim filing.
One set of cases concerns whether a claim...more
In sophisticated real estate financing transactions, most prudent lenders attempt to deter borrowers from filing for bankruptcy before loans are paid in full by providing in loan documents that such a filing constitutes an...more
12/29/2020
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Borrowers ,
Foreclosure ,
Land Developers ,
Lenders ,
Loan Documentation ,
Loans ,
Real Estate Financing ,
Single-Asset Debtor ,
Underwriting
The Bankruptcy Code enables a trustee to set aside certain transfers made by debtors before bankruptcy. See 11 U.S.C. §§ 544, 547, 548. These avoidance powers are subject to certain limitations, including a safe harbor in...more
There are several ways in which property owners can advantageously use the Bankruptcy Code to effectuate strategic dispositions of assets. But the bankruptcy process can be fraught with uncertainty that can upend the best...more
Last February, we blogged about the Third Circuit’s decision in In re Energy Future Holdings Corp, No. 19-1430, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 4947 (Feb. 18, 2020). The Third Circuit approved a process for resolving asbestos claims in...more
This post concerns computation of time under Bankruptcy Rule 9006. The specific issue addressed is whether a bankruptcy court — when computing a filing deadline — should count a day when its clerk’s office is closed, even if...more
In an appeal of a bankruptcy court’s decision, a district court judge recently addressed the treatment of the “straddle year” for federal income tax under the Bankruptcy Code, which “does not appear to have been decided by...more
Section 550 of the Bankruptcy Code provides that, when a transfer is avoided under one of several other sections of the Code, a trustee may recover “the property transferred, or, if the court so orders, the value of such...more
Courts reviewing a bankruptcy court’s decision to approve a chapter 11 reorganization plan over the objections of an interested party must consider not only the merits, but also (if implementation of the plan was not stayed)...more
Debtors in chapter 11 cases are required to make quarterly payments to the United States Trustee’s Office. These fees support the UST Program that serves in all districts but those in two states. Quarterly fees must be paid...more
When a debtor files for bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Code provides for an automatic stay of almost all proceedings to recover property from the debtor. See 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). A party in interest can seek an order exempting...more
1/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure ,
Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay ,
Reaffirmation ,
Right To Appeal ,
Ritzen Group Inc v Jackson Masonry LLC ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims
Section 303 of the Bankruptcy Code allows creditors to initiate an involuntary bankruptcy case against a debtor. The petition initiating the case must be filed by creditors holding claims aggregating to at least $10,000, and...more
The Bankruptcy Code gives a trustee powers to avoid certain pre-bankruptcy transfers of the debtor’s property to other entities. For example, a trustee can avoid transfers made with the intent to impair the ability of...more
10/30/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Bankrtupcy Code Section 550 ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Burden of Proof ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
Debtors ,
Due Process ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Google ,
Trustees
Judge Martin Glenn last week issued a decision in two related chapter 15 cases, In re Foreign Econ. Indus. Bank Ltd. “Vneshprombank” Ltd., No. 16-13534, and In re Larisa Markus, No. 19-10096, 2019 Bankr. LEXIS 3203 (Bankr....more
10/16/2019
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 15 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cross-Border ,
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Vacate ,
Public Policy
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
9/23/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Mergers ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Popular ,
Trustees ,
UFTA
We previously discussed Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn’s analysis of the Wagoner Rule in the Feltman v. Kossoff & Kossoff LLP (In re TS Empl., Inc.) case. The bankruptcy trustee (the “Trustee”) had asserted a fraud claim...more
Here’s an update on recent political, social, and economic developments in Venezuela. From our perspective as a blog focused on insolvency and restructuring topics, the upshot of what’s been taking place in Venezuela is that...more
7/25/2019
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bonds ,
Chapter 15 ,
Creditors ,
Debt ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Imports ,
Oil & Gas ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Venezuela
Last year, we discussed a decision by Judge Sean Lane of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York concerning section 109(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. In a recent cross-border case, In re PT...more
5/31/2019
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 15 ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Debtors ,
Eligibility ,
Filing Requirements ,
Forum Selection ,
Noteholders
Creditors’ recoveries often hinge on claw-back lawsuits that trustees bring under bankruptcy law and non-bankruptcy law. Trustees can file claims based on non-bankruptcy law because Bankruptcy Code section 544(b) allows them...more
5/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 7 ,
Clawbacks ,
Debtor-Creditor ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
FDCPA ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
SBA ,
Trustees ,
UFTA
Two weeks ago, we discussed asset sales under Bankruptcy Code section 363. As that post noted, section 363 requires court approval for asset sales outside the ordinary course of business, with courts ensuring that sales...more
5/6/2019
/ 363 Sales ,
Appeals ,
Auction ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Breach of Contract ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Private Sales ,
Sale of Assets ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Trustees
The subject matter jurisdiction of bankruptcy courts causes confusion and can be hard to understand. In a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit clarified the meaning of the phrase...more
We now address assets sales under Bankruptcy Code section 363. The statute allows debtors to use, sell, or lease their property in the ordinary course of business without court permission. But a debtor’s use, sale, or lease...more
4/17/2019
/ 363 Sales ,
Approval Requirements ,
Auction ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commercial Leases ,
Debtors ,
Private Sales ,
Public Bidding ,
Sale of Assets
When a debtor files for bankruptcy, almost all proceedings to recover property from the debtor are automatically stayed by force of law. See 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). This provision, known as the automatic stay, is a central...more