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)
In a highly anticipated decision—Sabine Oil & Gas Corp. v. Nordheim Eagle Ford Gathering, LLC (In re Sabine Oil & Gas Corp.), 734 Fed. Appx. 64, 2018 WL 2386902 (2d Cir. May 25, 2018)—the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second...more
In This Issue:
Caveat Emptor—Anti-Assignment Clause Renders Transferred Claim Unenforceable -
In In re Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC, 2018 WL 3131127 (Bankr. D. Del. June 20, 2018), the bankruptcy court ruled...more
In In re Avanti Commc'ns Grp. PLC, 582 B.R. 603 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2018), Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code enforcing...more
In the wake of scandal-driven bankruptcies filed by nearly 20 U.S. Roman Catholic dioceses and religious orders, scrutiny has been increasingly brought to bear on the benefits and burdens that federal bankruptcy laws offer to...more
8/15/2018
/ Alter Ego ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Churches ,
Debtor-Creditor ,
Educational Institutions ,
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure ,
Hospitals ,
Involuntary Bankruptcy ,
Nonprofits ,
Religious Institutions
On June 4, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No. 16-1215, 138 S. Ct. 1752, 2018 WL 2465174 (U.S. June 4, 2018), that an individual debtor's false statement about a single asset, as...more
8/14/2018
/ Adversary Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Business Assets ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Congressional Intent ,
Debtors ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
False Statements ,
Judgment Creditors ,
Lamar Archer & Cofrin LLP v Appling ,
Oral Communications ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS ,
Tax Returns
In In re SIMA Int'l, Inc., 2018 WL 2293705 (Bankr. D. Conn. May 17, 2018), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut ruled that a chapter 7 trustee's rejection of an intellectual property license agreement did...more
8/14/2018
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Section 365 ,
Split of Authority ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Trademarks
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
6/8/2018
/ 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 Crystallex International Corp. v. Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., 879 F.3d 79 (3d Cir. 2018), a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that transfers by nondebtor subsidiary corporations to their ultimate...more
6/8/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Alter Ego ,
Arbitration ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Business Assets ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Debtors ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Subsidiaries ,
UFTA ,
Venezuela
Even if a U.S. court has jurisdiction over a lawsuit involving foreign litigants, the court may conclude that a foreign court is better suited to adjudicate the dispute because either: (i) it would be more convenient, fair,...more
6/8/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Breach of Duty ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cross-Border ,
Debtors ,
Foreign Bankruptcies ,
Foreign Debt ,
Forum Non Conveniens ,
Forum Shopping ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Jurisdiction
The ability of a trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession to avoid fraudulent or preferential transfers is a fundamental part of U.S. bankruptcy law. However, when a transfer by a U.S. entity takes place outside the U.S. to...more
4/20/2018
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Debtors ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Fraudulent Wire Transfers ,
Jurisdiction ,
Preferential Transfers
In Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC (In re Tempnology, LLC), 879 F.3d 389 (1st Cir. 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the rejection of a trademark license in bankruptcy means...more
In determining whether a U.S. bankruptcy court should provide the representative of a foreign debtor with various forms of assistance in a case under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, the court must consider, consistent with...more
4/19/2018
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 15 ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Foreign Debt ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Insolvency ,
Jurisdiction ,
The Model Law ,
Venue
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
Courts disagree as to whether the amount that a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") can recover in fraudulent transfer avoidance litigation should be capped at the total amount of unsecured claims...more
2/5/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Bankrtupcy Code Section 550 ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commercial Real Estate Contracts ,
Debtor-Creditor ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Mergers ,
Trustees ,
UFTA
The initial year of the Trump administration colored much of the political, business, and financial headlines of 2017, both in the U.S. and abroad. Key administration-related developments in 2017 included U.S. withdrawal from...more
2/5/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Banking Sector ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bitcoin ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Climate Change ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Debt Restructuring ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fiscal Year ,
Germany ,
Global Economy ,
Insolvency ,
International Tax Issues ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NAFTA ,
Natural Disasters ,
Natural Resources ,
Net Neutrality ,
Netherlands ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pensions ,
Puerto Rico Oversight Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Russia ,
Singapore ,
Sovereign Debt ,
Trump Administration
In Clark’s Crystal Springs Ranch, LLC v. Gugino (In re Clark), 692 Fed. Appx. 946, 2017 BL 240043 (9th Cir. July 12, 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that: (i) the remedy of "substantive...more
In Assured Guaranty Corp. v. Fin. Oversight & Mgmt. Bd. for Puerto Rico, 872 F.3d 57 (1st Cir. 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that section 1109(b) of the Bankruptcy Code gave an unsecured...more
The ability of a trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to sell bankruptcy estate assets "free and clear" of competing interests in the property has long been recognized as one of the most important advantages of...more
10/4/2017
/ 363 Sales ,
Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commercial Leases ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Free and Clear Transactions ,
Landlords ,
Mortgages ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Sale of Assets ,
Section 365 ,
Split of Authority ,
Tenants ,
Trustees
The ability to avoid fraudulent or preferential transfers is a fundamental part of U.S. bankruptcy law. However, when a transfer by a U.S. entity takes place outside the U.S. to a non-U.S. transferee—as is increasingly common...more
10/2/2017
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Debtors ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Fraudulent Wire Transfers ,
Jurisdiction ,
Preferential Transfers ,
Trustees ,
Wire Transfers
In Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, No. 16-348, 2017 BL 161314 (U.S. May 15, 2017), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a credit collection agency does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") when it files...more
8/17/2017
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 13 ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Debt-Equity ,
Default ,
FDCPA ,
Henson v Santander Consumer USA ,
Midland Funding v Johnson ,
PEM Entities LLC v. Levin ,
Proof of Claims ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Review ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Debt
In Schoenmann v. Bank of the West (In re Tenderloin Health), 849 F.3d 1231 (9th Cir. 2017), a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently addressed as a matter of apparent first impression...more
In Feltman v. Noor Staffing Grp., LLC (In re Corp. Res. Servs. Inc.), 564 B.R. 196 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2017), the bankruptcy court considered whether section 553 of the Bankruptcy Code creates a right of setoff when no such...more
Section 510(b) of the Bankruptcy Code provides a mechanism designed to preserve the creditor/shareholder risk allocation paradigm by categorically subordinating most types of claims asserted against a debtor by equityholders...more
8/15/2017
/ Absolute Priority Rule ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Equitable Relief ,
Lehman Brothers ,
Lien Priority ,
Qualified Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) ,
Recharacterization ,
Restricted Stocks ,
Risk Allocation ,
Section 502 ,
Section 510 ,
Shareholders ,
Subordination Agreement
The ability of a trustee or chapter 11 debtor in possession ("DIP") to sell bankruptcy estate assets "free and clear" of liens on the property under section 363(f) of the Bankruptcy Code has long been recognized as one of the...more
8/15/2017
/ Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Debtors ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Free and Clear Transactions ,
Liens ,
Liquidation ,
Mortgages ,
Sale of Assets ,
Section 363 ,
Section 506 ,
Trustees