A chapter 11 plan may be modified after votes have been solicited on the plan, but prior to confirmation, without providing creditors and interest holders with an amended disclosure statement and another opportunity to vote...more
A handful of recent high-profile court rulings have considered whether a chapter 11 debtor is obligated to pay postpetition, pre-effective date interest ("pendency interest") to unsecured creditors to render their claims...more
One year ago, we wrote that, in early 2021, it was widely anticipated that the unprecedented pressure the COVID-19 pandemic brought to bear on the U.S. economy would lead to a boom in corporate bankruptcy filings. That boom...more
Whether claims have been discharged in bankruptcy is a frequently litigated issue. This is particularly so in chapter 11 cases involving mass tort claims that may have technically "arisen" when the debtor manufactured or sold...more
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
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
When existing interest holders attempt to retain ownership of a chapter 11 debtor after confirmation of a nonconsensual plan of reorganization, the Bankruptcy Code's plan confirmation requirements, including well-established...more
Despite the absence of any explicit directive in the Bankruptcy Code, it is well understood that a debtor must file a chapter 11 petition in good faith. The bankruptcy court can dismiss a bad faith filing "for cause," which...more
11/10/2021
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
COMI ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Debtors ,
Foreign Bankruptcies ,
Good Faith ,
Liquidation ,
Reorganizations ,
UNCITRAL
It is generally recognized that a bankruptcy court has the power—either equitable or statutory—to recharacterize a purported debt as equity if the substance of the transaction belies the labels the parties have given it. A...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
There is longstanding controversy concerning the validity of release and exculpation provisions in non-asbestos trust chapter 11 plans that limit the potential exposure of various parties involved in the process of...more
On October 26, 2020, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a long-awaited ruling on whether natural gas exploration and production company Ultra Petroleum Corp. ("UPC") must pay a make-whole...more
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
In the latest chapter of more than a decade of contentious litigation surrounding the 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO") and ensuing bankruptcy of media conglomerate Tribune Co. ("Tribune"), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third...more
"Cramdown" chapter 11 plans, under which a bankruptcy court confirms a plan over the objection of a class of creditors, are relatively common. Less common are the subset of cramdown plans known as "cram-up" chapter 11 plans....more
10/21/2020
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Borrowers ,
Change of Control ,
Chapter 11 ,
Charter Communications ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cram Up ,
Cramdown ,
Credit Agreements ,
Creditors ,
First-Lien ,
Ipso Facto Clauses ,
Reorganizations ,
Senior Lenders ,
Special Purpose Entities
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
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to sell assets of the bankruptcy estate "free and clear" of "any interest" in the property asserted by a non-debtor is an important tool designed...more
9/1/2020
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Reorganizations ,
Section 363 ,
Successor Liability ,
Withdrawal Liability
In In re Rogers Morris, 2020 WL 1321894 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. Mar. 16, 2020), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Mississippi contributed to an existing split among the courts by joining the majority view in...more
8/31/2020
/ Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Bankruptcy Plans ,
Chapter 12 ,
Creditors ,
Equitable Subordination ,
Inequitable Conduct ,
Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay ,
Reorganizations ,
Section 553 ,
Setoff Rights
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or a chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to use "cash collateral" during the course of a bankruptcy case may be vital to the debtor's prospects for a successful reorganization. However,...more
6/8/2020
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Chapter 11 ,
Collateral ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Czyzewski v Jevic Holding Corp ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Mootness ,
Personal Property ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Reorganizations ,
Section 363
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
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
Rumors of another recession multiplied as the tumultuous second year of the Trump administration came to a close. Highlights of 2018 included a simmering trade war with China; political upheaval after the House of...more
In Bennett v. Jefferson County, Alabama, 899 F.3d 1240 (11th Cir. 2018), a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled as a matter of first impression that the doctrine of equitable mootness applies in...more
12/24/2018
/ Article III ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 9 ,
Due Process ,
Equitable Mootness ,
Jurisdiction ,
Municipal Bankruptcy ,
Reorganizations ,
Standing ,
State Constitutions ,
State Sovereignty