On September 19, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a summary order in which it held that the “safe harbor” provision of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code preempted a bankruptcy trustee’s state...more
A fraudulent transfer is an attempt to avoid a debt by improperly transferring assets to a third party, or a transfer of assets for less than fair value made while the company is insolvent or will become insolvent as a result...more
Following an overhaul of the Singapore insolvency regime which came into force on 30 July 2020, the insolvency and restructuring framework was consolidated in the omnibus Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018...more
Nelson Mullins reported on March 25 that 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...more
Joining the Eighth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a debtor or trustee can sell its avoidance actions to third-party, non-estate representatives. See Briar Capital...more
Two recent decisions in the Madoff bankruptcy cases illustrate that the legacy of Bernie Madoff will long survive the man himself. Bernie Madoff died on April 14, 2021, while incarcerated in the Federal Medical Center in...more
In consumer class actions involving allegations of deceptive or false advertising, plaintiffs may allege that a company misrepresented benefits or omitted information about a product in advertisements. In these cases,...more
Hanneman Family Funeral Home & Crematorium v. Orians, Slip. Op. 2023-Ohio-3687. In this discretionary appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court clarified what constitutes a trade secret under Ohio’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act and...more
On August 3, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas found that the majority of the shares of stock of a reorganized debtor should be allocated to unsecured creditors, and not the secured creditors,...more
A bankruptcy trustee's ability to avoid and recover pre-bankruptcy preferential transfers is essential to preserving or augmenting the estate for the benefit of all stakeholders. In 2019, however, the Bankruptcy Code was...more
On May 19, in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the United States, in coordination with allies and partners, announced new sanctions restrictions and export controls targeting Russia’s evasion networks,...more
In 2022, there were several high-profile crypto bankruptcy filings. A big question in these cases is whether there will be any money to satisfy unsecured creditor claims. If there are funds to distribute, then the...more
The European Commission has proposed a new directive harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law. Proposals on clawback, pre-packs and directors' duties (among others) will be of interest to companies, directors, investors...more
Burkhart v. Genworth Fin., Inc., C.A. No. 2018-0691-JRS (Del. Ch. May 10, 2022) - The plaintiffs were a putative class of policyholders and insurance agents with an interest in long-term care insurance policies written by...more
Preference defense received an important boost this week when the Eleventh Circuit decided that invoices paid under 11 U.S.C. § 503(b)(9) can count as "new value" in defending against preference claims. It is the first...more
In Kelley v. Safe Harbor Managed Account 101, Ltd., the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals endorsed a broad view of parties protected from avoidance claims related to certain derivative and financial contracts (“QFCs”),...more
This is how Tribune ends: not with a bang, but a whimper. The 12-year litigation saga, rooted in the spectacular failure of the media and sports conglomerate’s 2007 leveraged buyout, reached an end in late February with a...more
For most non-bankruptcy attorneys, their first experience in bankruptcy court could very likely begin with a call from an agitated and bewildered client asking for help to understand why they have been sued by a trustee in a...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
On August 26, 2021, the Third Circuit confirmed that a corporation remained on the hook for the pension withdrawal liability of its bankrupt subsidiary despite diluting its ownership interest in the subsidiary below 80%, to...more
In a recent post, our own Harriet Wallace observed a truism in a recent ruling by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in the chapter 7 iteration of the infamous Jevic case—the wording of an order...more
The Bankruptcy Code grants the power to avoid certain transactions to a bankruptcy trustee or debtor-in-possession. See, e.g., 11 U.S.C. §§ 544, 547–48. Is there a general requirement that these avoidance powers only be...more
Traditional avoidance actions under the Bankruptcy Code, i.e., preferences and fraudulent transfers, have laudable goals: (a) to provide equal treatment to creditors of an insolvent company and (b) to claw back otherwise...more
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
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina recently added some weight to the majority rule on an issue that has long divided bankruptcy and appellate courts. In In re Southern Produce Distributors,...more