Polsinelli Podcasts: Out-of-Court Alternatives to Bankruptcy
For a debtor in financial distress, having the right team in place to steward the company through a restructuring can mean the difference between success and failure. To incentivize top talent to stay with the debtor and...more
Bankruptcy Court Elects to Follow Majority Interpretation of 11 U.S.C. § 363(f)(5) On March 4, 2025, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the Bankruptcy Court) issued a significant...more
Conducting an asset sale through a bankruptcy auction — a Section 363 sale — is an effective and common M&A tool for a distressed company. In anticipation of a 363 sale, a Chapter 11 debtor typically tries before its...more
On January 13, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware affirmed the decision by the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, holding that an unofficial committee representing tens of thousands of sexual abuse...more
Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code offers powerful protection for good-faith purchasers in bankruptcy sales because it limits appellate review of an approved sale, irrespective of the legal merits of the appeal....more
In an opinion on January 22nd, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Matter of S. Coast Supply Co., 91 F.4th 376 (5th Cir. 2024), held that preference claims arising under 11 U.S.C. § 547 may be sold, reversing the dismissal...more
The finality of asset sales in bankruptcy is an indispensable feature of U.S. bankruptcy law designed to maximize the value of a bankruptcy estate as expeditiously as possible for the benefit of all stakeholders. To promote...more
As we enter year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of new Chapter 11 cases being commenced has slowed to a trickle. But the cycle will turn again. There are always companies that lose a major customer, fail to adapt to...more
Expedited Chapter 11 bankruptcies are on the rise because they save money and because key constituents such as bank lenders and bondholders recognize that the more time that a debtor spends in Chapter 11, the more likely the...more
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
The Federal bank regulators which supervise banks have made a statement encouraging workouts necessitated by the coronavirus. Loans which would otherwise be classified as TDRs (Troubled Loan Restructurings) will not have to...more
When there are large numbers of substantial individual tort claims against a debtor, potentially involving claimants unknowable to the debtor who themselves may not know they have a claim, the bankruptcy process faces special...more
In In re Millennium Lab Holdings II, LLC, 2017 BL 354864 (Bankr. D. Del. Oct. 3, 2017), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware ruled that it had the constitutional authority to grant nonconsensual third-party...more
The ability of a secured creditor to credit bid its debt in connection with a sale of a debtor’s assets received a strong boost in a decision last month in the Chapter 11 case of Aeropostale from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean...more
Thirty-four affiliates of Variant Holding Company, LLC (“Variant”) have filed chapter 11 petitions before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The debtors will seek to have their cases jointly...more
In re Stacy’s, Inc., 508 B.R. 370 (Bankr. D. S.C. 2014) – A debtor sold substantially all of its assets after negotiating with its primary secured creditor for carve-outs from the sale proceeds for administrative...more