Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code’s “safe harbor” preventing avoidance in bankruptcy of certain securities, commodity, or forward-contract payments has long been a magnet for controversy. Several noteworthy court rulings...more
10/3/2023
/ Article III ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities Contracts ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Standing
Bankruptcy trustees and chapter 11 debtors-in-possession ("DIPs") frequently seek to avoid fraudulent transfers and obligations under section 544(b) of the Bankruptcy Code and state fraudulent transfer or other applicable...more
10/3/2023
/ Abrogation ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Bankruptcy Trustees ,
Chapter 11 ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Government Entities ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Sovereign Immunity
Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code's "safe harbor" preventing avoidance in bankruptcy of certain securities, commodity, or forward-contract payments has long been a magnet for controversy. Several noteworthy court rulings...more
Recognized Native American tribes generally have inherent authority to govern themselves without interference by federal or state governments. An important element of this "tribal sovereignty" is immunity from lawsuits in...more
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to avoid fraudulent transfers is an important tool to promote the bankruptcy policies of equality of distribution among creditors and maximizing...more
This Term, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted certiorari in Siegel v. Fitzgerald (In re Circuit City Stores, Inc.), 996 F.3d 156 (4th Cir. 2021), cert. granted, No. 21-441 (U.S. Jan. 10, 2022), in order to resolve the growing...more
In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit made headlines when it ruled that creditors' state law fraudulent transfer claims arising from the 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO") of Tribune Co. ("Tribune") were...more
1/28/2022
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 546(e) ,
Securities Contracts ,
Securities Regulation
In In re Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, 12 F.4th 171 (2d Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revived litigation filed by the trustee administering the assets of defunct investment firm...more
11/10/2021
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Bernie Madoff ,
Chapter 11 ,
Fraud ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Good Faith ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
SIPA
In yet another chapter in the tortured saga of the fallout from the failed 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO") of media giant The Tribune Co. ("Tribune") in a transaction orchestrated by real-estate mogul Sam Zell, the U.S. Court...more
11/10/2021
/ Bankrtupcy Code Section 550 ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Breach of Duty ,
Chapter 11 ,
Citigroup ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Stock ,
ESOP ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Section 548 ,
The Tribune Company ,
Unregistered Securities
On April 19, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a landmark 2019 decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit regarding the applicability of the Bankruptcy Code's safe harbor for...more
In the latest chapter of more than a decade of litigation involving efforts to recover fictitious profits paid to certain customers of Bernard Madoff's defunct brokerage firm as part of the largest Ponzi scheme in history,...more
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to avoid fraudulent transfers is an important tool promoting the bankruptcy policies of equality of distribution among creditors and maximizing...more
2/9/2021
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Trustees ,
Chapter 7 ,
Debtors ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Section 548 ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tax Avoidance ,
UFTA
In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit made headlines when it ruled that creditors' state law fraudulent transfer claims arising from the 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO") of Tribune Co. ("Tribune") were...more
12/29/2020
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Conveyance ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Preemption ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 546(e) ,
Stock Repurchases ,
Unjust Enrichment
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
In Hafen v. Adams (In re Hafen), 616 B.R. 570 (B.A.P. 10th Cir. 2020), a bankruptcy appellate panel from the Tenth Circuit ("BAP") held that the bankruptcy court is the only court with subject-matter jurisdiction to decide...more
12/17/2020
/ Article III ,
Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Standing ,
Statutory Authority ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recently added some weight to the majority rule on a hot-button issue for claims traders. In In re Firestar Diamond, Inc., 615 B.R. 161 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2020),...more
In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit made headlines when it ruled that creditors' state law fraudulent transfer claims arising from the 2007 leveraged buyout ("LBO") of Tribune Co. ("Tribune") were...more
8/31/2020
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Covered Entities ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Conveyance ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Preemption ,
Recapitalization ,
Safe Harbors
To prevent landlords under long-term real property leases from reaping a windfall for future rent claims at the expense of other creditors, section 502(b)(6) of the Bankruptcy Code caps the amount of a landlord's claims...more
In In re Tribune Co. Fraudulent Conveyance Litig., 2019 WL 1771786 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 23, 2019), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a litigation trustee’s motion to amend a complaint seeking to...more
6/19/2019
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Intermediaries ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 546(e) ,
Split of Authority ,
Trustees
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee to avoid fraudulent or preferential transfers is a fundamental part of U.S. bankruptcy law. However, when an otherwise avoidable transfer by a U.S. entity takes place outside the U.S. to a...more
6/19/2019
/ Avoidance ,
Bankrtupcy Code Section 550 ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Debtors ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Fraudulent Wire Transfers ,
Jurisdiction ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Preferential Transfers ,
SIPA
On April 3, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order that, in light of its recent ruling in Merit Management Group LP v. FTI Consulting Inc., 138 S. Ct. 883, No. 16-784 (Feb. 27, 2018), the Court would defer consideration...more
6/8/2018
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Intermediaries ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 546(e) ,
Split of Authority ,
Trustees
In Crystallex International Corp. v. Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., 879 F.3d 79 (3d Cir. 2018), a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that transfers by nondebtor subsidiary corporations to their ultimate...more
6/8/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Alter Ego ,
Arbitration ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Business Assets ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Debtors ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Subsidiaries ,
UFTA ,
Venezuela
Even if a U.S. court has jurisdiction over a lawsuit involving foreign litigants, the court may conclude that a foreign court is better suited to adjudicate the dispute because either: (i) it would be more convenient, fair,...more
6/8/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Breach of Duty ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 15 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cross-Border ,
Debtors ,
Foreign Bankruptcies ,
Foreign Debt ,
Forum Non Conveniens ,
Forum Shopping ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Jurisdiction
The ability of a trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession to avoid fraudulent or preferential transfers is a fundamental part of U.S. bankruptcy law. However, when a transfer by a U.S. entity takes place outside the U.S. to...more
4/20/2018
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Debtors ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Fraudulent Wire Transfers ,
Jurisdiction ,
Preferential Transfers
On February 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated ruling resolving a long-standing circuit split over the scope of the Bankruptcy Code’s "safe harbor" provision exempting certain securities transaction...more
4/19/2018
/ Avoidance ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Intermediaries ,
Merit Management Group v FTI Consulting ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 546(e) ,
Split of Authority