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Bill on Bankruptcy: Junk Debt Interest Rates at 30-Year Low
The ability to assume, assume and assign, or reject executory contracts and unexpired leases is a power central to ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to maximize the value of the estate...more
In a recent decision of interest, the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan held that a non-compete clause within a franchise agreement as well as confidentiality agreement could not be rejected as an...more
A recent bankruptcy court decision determined that a debtor cannot reject an unexercised option for the purchase of its real estate, raising a potentially significant bar to any debtor extricating itself from an under-market...more
During a U.S. bankruptcy case, can a debtor pay something less than the full contract rate provided for in a contract entered into prior to the bankruptcy while still requiring the counterparty to fully perform its...more
Three years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States and its effects are still being felt today. Even though lockdown measures have largely disappeared and many workers have returned to the office,...more
The recent decision of the Ninth Circuit in In re Hawkeye Entertainment, LLC contains a few important takeaways with respect to the treatment of executory contracts and unexpired leases under section 365 of the Bankruptcy...more
This entry is part of Nelson Mullins’s ongoing “Bankruptcy Basics” blog series that is intended to address foundational aspects of bankruptcy for non-bankruptcy practitioners and professionals. This entry will discuss how...more
This entry is part of Nelson Mullins’s ongoing “Bankruptcy Basics” blog series that is intended to address foundational aspects of bankruptcy for non-bankruptcy practitioners and professionals. This entry will discuss lease...more
In FERC v. Ultra Resources, Inc. (In re Ultra Petroleum Corp.), 2022 WL 763836 (5th Cir. Mar. 14, 2022), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a long-awaited ruling on an appeal from a bankruptcy court order...more
1. AUTOMATIC STAY - 1.1 Covered Activities - Taggart v. Lorenzen standard applies to stay violation in a corporate case. The debtor sold assets prepetition. After the petition date, the buyer demanded payment of certain...more
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to assume, assume and assign, or reject executory contracts and unexpired leases is an important tool designed to promote a "fresh start" for...more
One year ago, we wrote that, unlike in 2019, when the large business bankruptcy landscape was generally shaped by economic, market, and leverage factors, the COVID-19 pandemic dominated the narrative in 2020....more
In Highland Capital Mgmt. v. Dondero (In re Highland Capital Mgmt.), Case No. 21-03007-sgj (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2021), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas held that a debtor could not be compelled to...more
AVOIDING POWERS - Fraudulent Transfers - Trustee may avoid transfer as actual fraudulent transfer only if ultimate decision-maker has fraudulent intent. Before entering into a two-step LBO transaction, the debtor formed...more
In the ever-churning waters of the Countryman test for determining whether a contract is executory, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana recently dipped its toe. The question before the court...more
Whether a contract is "executory" such that it can be assumed, rejected, or assigned in bankruptcy is a question infrequently addressed by the circuit courts of appeals. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit...more
A recent case before bankruptcy judge Karen B. Owens of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Dura Auto. Sys., LLC, No. 19-12378 (KBO), 2021 WL 2456944 (Bankr. D. Del. June 16, 2021), provides...more
On Oct. 28, 2020, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas delivered a key ruling affecting: (1) purchase and sale agreements for produced gas and severed minerals; and (2) agreements with “exclusive...more
Over the past five years, bankruptcy courts have analyzed whether oil and gas producers’ contracts with midstream oil, gas, and produced water companies may be rejected if they create covenants running with the land. Through...more
On June 22, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") issued an order concluding that FERC and the U.S. bankruptcy courts have concurrent jurisdiction to review and address the disposition of natural gas...more
In a leading precedent handed down in 2018—Sabine Oil & Gas Corp. v. Nordheim Eagle Ford Gathering, LLC (In re Sabine Oil & Gas Corp.), 734 Fed. Appx. 64 (2d Cir. May 25, 2018)—the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...more
In FERC v. FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (In re FirstEnergy Solutions Corp), Case No. 18-3787 (6th Cir. Dec. 12, 2019), the Sixth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction over the rejection of certain power purchase...more
On December 20, 2019, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in Alta Mesa Holdings, LP v. Kingfisher Midstream, LLC (In re Alta Mesa Resources, Inc.) held that dedications in gathering agreements create...more
On December 12, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a highly anticipated ruling in the FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. bankruptcy case, regarding the efforts of FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (FirstEnergy or...more
On December 12, 2019, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the bankruptcy court in the bankruptcy proceedings of FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (FES) has jurisdiction to decide whether...more