Consensual Third-Party Releases
On May 13, 2025, the Third Circuit issued a high-stakes opinion in In re Boy Scouts of America, affirming the confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan that includes nonconsensual, nondebtor third-party releases—despite the U.S....more
Introduction - On March 31, 2025, Judge Christopher Lopez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas denied confirmation of the prepackaged Chapter 11 plan of Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) affiliate Red...more
Third-party releases may no longer provide a shield to owners and directors of a reorganized company. Still, a New York bankruptcy court recently paved the way for another constructive solution for the individual owner of a...more
On March 18, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in In re Highland Capital Mgmt., L.P., that a plan’s gatekeeping and injunction provisions could not extend to claims against most non-debtors...more
In the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of In re Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, Case No. 20-12345 (MG), the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recently approved settlement agreements...more
The restructuring industry held its proverbial breath following the Supreme Court’s decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., which invalidated the nonconsensual third-party release in the debtors’ plan. While various...more
On June 27, 2024, the United States Supreme Court decided the Purdue Pharma appeal. In a five-to-four decision, the Supreme Court held that a bankruptcy court may not extend to non-debtors the benefits of a Chapter 11...more
Last week, in a 5-to-4 decision in the case of Harrington, United States Trustee, Region 2 v. Purdue Pharma L.P, et al., the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the ability of bankruptcy courts to order non-consensual third-party...more
In Spark Factor Design, Inc., et al. v. Hjelmeset (In re Open Medicine Institute, Inc.), No. 22-60017 (9th Cir. Oct. 30, 2023), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently found that a bankruptcy court has discretion of...more
David Conaway reports on a recent Chapter 11 plan of reorganization submitted by Purdue Pharma (Oxycontin) to resolve a mass tort claim. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is having difficulty swallowing the...more
In March 2022, we discussed the decision by the Southern District of New York (the “District Court”) overturning the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York’s (the “Bankruptcy Court”) confirmation of...more
The Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in Digital Media Solutions v. South Univ. of Ohio, 59 F.4th 772 (6th Cir. 2023) provides a cautionary tale about the limitations of federal equity receiverships as a restructuring tool. It...more
There is longstanding controversy concerning the validity of third-party release provisions in non-asbestos trust chapter 11 plans that limit the potential exposure of various non-debtor parties involved in the process of...more
On May 30, 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit released its long-awaited opinion addressing Purdue Pharma’s confirmed chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. Although the appeal challenged more than one aspect of the...more
Third-party release provisions are a common feature of almost every chapter 11 plan in large bankruptcy cases. Despite this, there has long been a split among bankruptcy courts and Circuit Courts of Appeal on the scope and...more
Historically, a business (known as a debtor) filed for chapter 11 to restructure its debts owed to creditors through a plan of reorganization. The debtor would receive a discharge of any debts not required to be repaid under...more
The ability of a chapter 11 going-concern debtor to be discharged from its prepetition liabilities is common place and not controversial. 11 U.S.C. § 1141(d). However, the ability of a debtor to release third-party...more
Employment background checks help employers hire individuals with integrity whom they can trust, and who do not present a risk to the business, other employees, or the customers and clients that the business serves. Buyers in...more
Key bankruptcy issues, including the propriety of third-party releases and the so-called "Texas Two-Step," as well as determination of proper case venue, have recently drawn the attention of mainstream media, the public at...more
Overview - Although a discharge might not release third parties and protects only the debtor against a determination of personal liability, in In re Le Ctr. on Fourth, LLC, 17 F.4th 1326 (11th Cir. 2021), the Eleventh...more
As a result of Purdue Pharma’s proposed plan of reorganization, and the ongoing opioid epidemic that continues to grip the nation, the debate over non-consensual third-party releases has gone mainstream despite being a...more
Two recent decisions by U.S. District Courts have rejected attempts to include nonconsensual third party releases in chapter 11 reorganization plans. These rulings suggest third party releases may be facing increasing push...more
When the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, the foundation on which the current Bankruptcy Code is constructed, was enacted, bankruptcy cases customarily involved a debtor addressing claims only against it. Consistent with that...more
Jordana L. Renert and Eric Chafetz, partners in the firm’s Bankruptcy & Restructuring Department, discuss consensual third-party releases and a recently adopted alternative framework for approval of such releases under...more
The Ninth Circuit, in Blixseth v. Credit Suisse, 961 F.3d 1074, 1078 (9th Cir. 2020), issued a significant decision on the issue of whether nonconsensual third-party releases are ever permitted in Chapter 11 plans....more