The ability of a bankruptcy trustee to avoid certain transfers of a debtor's property and to recover the property or its value from the transferees is an essential tool in maximizing the value of a bankruptcy estate for the...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
There is currently a split in authority on the issue of whether a trustee may recover from an immediate or mediate transferee if the recipient received proceeds from a fraudulent transfer but not the fraudulently transferred...more
A bankruptcy trustee exercising her or his avoidance powers under Chapter 5 of the Bankruptcy Code may seek to recover the avoidably transferred property (or its value) from “the initial transferee,” “the entity for whose...more
The Bottom Line - In vacating judgments from both the District Court and the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York, the Second Circuit held, in In re Picard, 917 F.3d 85 (2d Cir. 2019), that the trustee...more
On February 25, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision holding that a trustee is not barred by either the presumption against extraterritoriality or by international comity...more
Recently, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania clarified that funds returned to the debtor are not recoverable as intentional fraudulent transfers. See Holber v. Nikparvar (In re Incare, LLC),...more
Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code permits a bankruptcy trustee to avoid any transfer that would be avoidable by creditors under state fraudulent transfer law. Section 550 of the Bankruptcy Code permits the bankruptcy trustee...more
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
Starting on September 12, 2017, Peter Kravitz, as Settlement Trustee of the Samson Settlement Trust, filed approximately 293 complaints seeking the avoidance and recovery of allegedly preferential and/or fraudulent transfers...more
On July 19-21, 2017, David W. Carickhoff, in his capacity as Chapter 7 Trustee of the Estates of Univita Holdings, et al., filed approximately 46 complaints seeking the avoidance and recovery of allegedly preferential and/or...more
Not uncommonly, a preference complaint fails to adequately allege that the transfers sought to be recovered by the trustee were made “for or on account of an antecedent debt owed by the debtor before such transfer was made”,...more
Under section 550(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, a trustee or debtor in possession may recover property (or its value) that has been fraudulently transferred “from the initial transferee or the entity for whose benefit the...more
On December 18, 2014, Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi issued an opinion granting summary judgment in favor of defendant and against trustee who sought to avoid and recover $1,181,583.84 as preferential transfers pursuant...more