A decision earlier this year in the LATAM Airlines Group bankruptcy addressed the validity of claims arising from intercompany loans between a corporate debtor’s affiliates. Judge James L. Garrity’s opinion overruling...more
A recent decision by Delaware Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey will limit the ability of bankruptcy trustees to expand the lookback period for avoiding pre-bankruptcy transfers beyond the four years provided under most state law...more
The allowance of postpetition interest in solvent debtor chapter 11 cases has become an important issue in recent years for corporate issuers, bondholders and other creditors. This post will examine a recent decision in the...more
The treatment of make-whole premiums in chapter 11 cases in solvent debtor cases has become an important issue in recent years for corporate issuers and bondholders. This post will examine a recent decision in the Hertz case...more
Two recent judicial decisions, Sanchez Energy and Tribune Media, highlight the challenges faced by indenture trustees and their professionals in chapter 11 cases where there are no recoveries to noteholders. Federal law...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently became the first circuit court to address the question of whether a corporate parent can set off an obligation that it owes to a bankrupt company against a claim owed...more
The much-ballyhooed COVID relief bill passed by Congress at the end of last year, in addition to providing for $600 checks to millions of people, includes several COVID-related amendments to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Some of...more
The New York Court of Appeals recently handed down an important opinion on out of court restructurings involving bond debt. In CNH Diversified Opportunities Master Account, L.P., v. Cleveland Unlimited, Inc., the Court of...more
The Supreme Court this week resolved a long-standing open issue regarding the treatment of trademark license rights in bankruptcy proceedings. The Court ruled in favor of Mission Products, a licensee under a trademark license...more
5/28/2019
/ Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Breach of Contract ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors ,
Exclusions ,
Executory Contracts ,
IP License ,
Mission Product Holdings Inc v Tempnology LLC ,
Rescission ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 365 ,
Split of Authority ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Trademarks ,
Trustees
Few issues in bankruptcy create as much contention as disputes regarding the right of setoff. This was recently highlighted by a decision in the chapter 11 case of Orexigen Therapeutics in the District of Delaware. Judge...more
Southeastern Grocers (operator of the Winn-Dixie, Bi Lo and Harvey’s supermarket chains) recently completed a successful restructuring of its balance sheet through a “prepackaged” chapter 11 case in the District of Delaware....more
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc. has appropriately drawn significant attention. The Court, by narrowing the “safe harbor” provision of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy...more
4/26/2018
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Intermediaries ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 546(e) ,
Trustees
In December 2015, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Laurie Silverstein of the District of Delaware confirmed a plan of reorganization in the Millennium Lab Holdings chapter 11 case that included the non-consensual release of...more
The Supreme Court two years ago ruled in Baker Botts v. Asarco that bankruptcy professionals entitled to compensation from a debtor’s bankruptcy estate had no statutory right to be compensated for time spent defending against...more
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in PEM Entities LLC v. Levin, in which it will decide whether federal or a state law should apply when a debt claim held by a debtor’s insider is sought to be recharacterized in...more
Judge Christopher Sontchi recently issued an important opinion in the Molycorp chapter 11 case. He held that a standard carve-out in a financing order for the fees of counsel and other professionals for an official...more
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in the case of Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp. Although veteran Court watchers caution about seeking to predict ultimate rulings based on justices’ questions and stated...more
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp. during the new term that began last week. The questions it presents are relatively simple. First, can a bankruptcy court, in dismissing a case...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
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed down a decision with significant implications for landlords contemplating lease termination agreements with distressed tenants. Ruling on a direct appeal in the chapter 11...more
Energy Future Holdings (“EFH” or “Debtors”) has cleared all of the preliminary hurdles in its path as it moves towards the confirmation of its plan of reorganization (the “Plan”). Last week Judge Christopher Sontchi of the...more
Make-whole premiums are often used in connection with the issuance of debt in order to protect noteholders with long term investment horizons from being repaid early. At the time of the bankruptcy filing of EFH in April 2014,...more
7/15/2015
/ Acceleration ,
Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bonds ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Energy Futures Holdings ,
Financial Holding Company ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Rescission ,
Section 362
The Supreme Court has not handled its recent major bankruptcy decisions well. The jurisdictional confusion engendered by its 2011 decision in Stern v. Marshall was only partially clarified by this term’s opinion in Wellness...more
Four years ago, in Stern v. Marshall, the Supreme Court stunned many observers by re-visiting separation of powers issues regarding the jurisdiction of the United States bankruptcy courts that most legal scholars had viewed...more