The Chartwell Chronicles: Release & Resignation
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Harrington, United States Trustee, Region 2 v. Purdue Pharma L.P, et al., which disallowed non-consensual third-party releases in Chapter 11 plans of reorganizations, bankruptcy...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 Svenhard’s Swedish Bakery v. United States Bakery, Bk. No. 19-15277, 2023 WL 5541420 (9th Cir. Aug. 29, 2023), the Ninth Circuit held that a settlement agreement that resolved an employer’s withdrawal liability to a...more
If you really want to be released from your lease obligations and those of your assignee, you need to get a landlord release at the time of assignment. An assignor tenant’s lease obligations survive an otherwise permitted...more
Judge Colleen McMahon recently opined in Purdue1 that “the lower courts desperately need a clear answer” as to the validity of third-party releases. On January 13, 2022, the United States District Court for the Eastern...more
Chapter 11 plans of reorganization provide creditors with recoveries (cash or new securities) in exchange for a release and discharge of all claims against the debtor. Many Chapter 11 plans go a step further to release claims...more
The Honorable Karen B. Owens, sworn in as a Delaware Bankruptcy Judge on June 17, 2019, recently ruled that the third-party releases contained in Emerge Energy Services LP’s Chapter 11 plan were not consensually granted,...more
In a 2-1 opinion dated July 22, 2019, the Fifth Circuit held that third parties who paid a receiver to settle estate claims against them are entitled to an order barring other creditors from suing the settling third parties...more
Third-party releases attract significant attention and debate in Chapter 11 cases. A Southern District of New York bankruptcy court recently weighed in on this hot topic and issued a decision in In re SunEdison, Inc., et al.,...more
On March 12, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the authority of a bankruptcy court to issue non-consensual, non-debtor releases in connection with the confirmation of a plan of...more