Recently, in In re Moon Group Inc., a bankruptcy court said no, but the district court, which has agreed to review the decision on an interlocutory appeal, seems far less sure.
The bankruptcy court held that a lockbox...more
7/14/2023
/ Advances ,
Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Credit Agreements ,
Debtors ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Lenders ,
Line of Credit ,
Liquidity ,
Notice of Default
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently ruled in the Puerto Rico bankruptcy case that Fifth Amendment takings claims cannot be discharged or impaired by a bankruptcy plan. As a matter of first impression in...more
Recently, in In re Tribune Company, the Third Circuit affirmed that the Bankruptcy Code means exactly what it says and that the enforcement of subordination agreements can be abridged when cramming down confirmation of a...more
9/1/2020
/ Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cramdown ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Discrimination ,
Interest Rate Swaps ,
Parent Corporation ,
Reorganizations ,
Senior Secured Debt ,
Subordination Agreement
Swaps, together with repurchase agreements, forward contracts, securities contracts and commodities contracts receive special treatment under the bankruptcy code-they are largely exempt from the automatic stay, bankruptcy...more
8/18/2020
/ Appeals ,
Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commodity Sale Agreements ,
Exemptions ,
Flip Transactions ,
Forward Contracts ,
Ipso Facto Clauses ,
Lehman Brothers ,
Liquidation ,
Noteholders ,
Reaffirmation ,
Repurchase Agreements ,
Securities ,
Swaps
Two courts recently answered “yes,” finding that environmental claims brought against reorganized debtors by government entities were discharged under confirmed Chapter 11 plans of reorganization. In In re Exide Techs., 613...more
5/15/2020
/ Air Pollution ,
Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Discharge Order ,
Batteries ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Chapter 11 ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Coal Industry ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Law Claims ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Debtors ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Violations ,
Fines ,
Fraud ,
Global Warming ,
Municipalities ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Police Power ,
Proof of Claims ,
Public Nuisance ,
Recycling ,
State Regulators ,
Strict Liability
Yes, says the First Circuit. The First Circuit recently affirmed the District Court’s decision to deny a group of bondholders’ (the “Bondholders”) motion to have a trustee appointed for the Employees Retirement System of the...more
5/9/2020
/ Appeals ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 9 ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Puerto Rico ,
Retirement Funds ,
Reversible Error ,
Trustees
Key Takeaways
- The CARES Act did not explicitly or implicitly give private plaintiffs a right to sue lenders for supposed violations of that statute.
- The Small Business Administration has primary responsibility for...more
4/20/2020
/ Appeals ,
Applicants ,
Bank of America ,
Banks ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eligibility ,
Federal Loans ,
Lenders ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Private Right of Action ,
Putative Class Actions ,
SBA ,
Standing
In general, a trustee or debtor in possession may assign a lease if it cures any monetary defaults and provides adequate assurance of future performance by the proposed assignee. If the lease is for space in a shopping...more
3/30/2020
/ Appeals ,
Assignments ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Commercial Leases ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Contract Terms ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Retailers ,
Sears ,
Shopping Centers ,
Subleases
The consequences of an order or judgement being final or interlocutory are enormous. An order from an interlocutory order requires leave since these orders are not appealable as of right. In addition, a failure to obtain...more
1/28/2020
/ Appeals ,
Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure ,
Final Judgment ,
Interlocutory Orders ,
Mootness ,
Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Reaffirmation ,
Right To Appeal ,
Ritzen Group Inc v Jackson Masonry LLC ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently held in In re Tribune Company Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation, No. 13-3992-cv (L) (2d Cir., Dec. 19, 2019) that Bankruptcy Code Section 546(e) barred claims seeking to avoid...more
1/21/2020
/ Appeals ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Dismissals ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Conveyance ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Preemption ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 546(e) ,
Shareholders ,
Standing ,
Subsidiaries ,
Unsecured Debt
Answering “no” to a certified question from the Fifth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Texas held that a transferee on inquiry notice of fraud cannot shield itself from clawback without diligently investigating its initial...more
1/16/2020
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Clawbacks ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Failure to Investigate ,
Fraud ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Good Faith ,
Inquiry notice ,
Internal Investigations ,
Investors ,
Stanford Ponzi Scheme ,
Transferees ,
TX Supreme Court ,
UFTA
In the fifth opinion involving the repo liquidation saga of HomeBanc, the Third Circuit addressed several crucial issues involving the liquidation and valuation of repo collateral in bankruptcy. In re HomeBanc Mortg....more
1/7/2020
/ Affiliates ,
Appeals ,
Auction ,
Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bid Solicitation ,
Buyers ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 Conversions ,
Collateral ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Damages ,
Default ,
Deficiency Judgments ,
Foreclosure ,
Good Faith ,
Inside Information ,
Investment Banks ,
Liquidation ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage-Backed Securities ,
Mortgages ,
Repossess ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities ,
Sellers ,
Trustees ,
Valuation
Periods of volatility in energy prices cause spikes in energy companies’ bankruptcies. These bankruptcies lead to debtors’ attempts to reject power purchase agreements (“PPAs”). These attempts ignite the unresolved legal...more
1/2/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Executory Contracts ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Filed-Rate Doctrine ,
Jurisdiction ,
PG&E ,
Power Purchase Agreements ,
Rejection Notices
A New Jersey District Court recently addressed several issues in connection with the appointment of a future claims representative (“FCR”). In light of the recent increase in mass-tort bankruptcy cases, exploring these issues...more
10/11/2019
/ Appeals ,
Asbestos Litigation ,
Asbestos Trust Claims ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Disinterested Parties ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Future Claims ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Legal Representatives ,
Mass Tort Litigation ,
Nominations ,
Objections ,
Standard of Review ,
Trustees
It is a well-established principle of bankruptcy law that claims generally crystallize as of the bankruptcy petition date. Of course, section 506(b) of the bankruptcy code allows over-secured, secured creditors to recover...more
Two United States Bankruptcy Judges for the Southern District of New York recently issued a joint opinion addressing common issues raised by motions to dismiss in two separate adversary proceedings – one pending before Judge...more
5/14/2018
/ Adversary Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Breach of Duty ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Comity ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Conservators ,
Debtors ,
Dismissals ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Crisis ,
Foreign Banks ,
Forum Non Conveniens ,
Forum Shopping ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Insolvency ,
International Litigation ,
Judicial Review ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation ,
Parent Corporation ,
Receivership ,
Stays ,
Ultra Vires
Directors and officers (D&Os) of troubled companies should be highly sensitive to D&O insurance policies with Prior Act Exclusion. While policies with such exclusion may be cheaper, a recent decision by the U.S. Court of...more
7/13/2017
/ Appeals ,
Banks ,
Breach of Duty ,
Chapter 11 ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Officers ,
Creditors ,
D&O Insurance ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Directors ,
Insolvency ,
OTS ,
Parent Corporation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Prior Wrongful Acts ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholders ,
Subsidiaries ,
Transfer of Assets
In a 2-1 opinion, the Second Circuit overruled the district court in Marblegate Asset Management LLC v. Education Management Corp., finding no violation of the Trust Indenture Act (“TIA”) in connection with an out-of-court...more
1/28/2017
/ Appeals ,
Bonds ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Fraudulent Conveyance ,
Lenders ,
Payment Terms ,
Section 316(b) ,
Secured Notes ,
Senior Indenture ,
Trust Indenture Act ,
Vacated