Business Bankruptcy
Law Firm Bankruptcies: The “Unfinished Business” Doctrine and the Jewel Waiver
One of the interesting aspects of business bankruptcy cases is that both the businesses and the issues their bankruptcy proceedings present can differ so much. In recent years, for example, we have seen department stores (Macy’s, Federated), toy retailers (Toys R Us), bookstore chains (Borders), automobile manufacturers (GM, Chrysler), supermarkets (A&P), auto supply companies (Delphi), […]
The Supreme Court Narrows the Bankruptcy Code Safe Harbor for Securities Transaction Payments
In our last article, we discussed the U.S. Supreme Court’s acceptance for review of the Seventh Circuit’s decision in FTI Consulting, Inc. v. Merit Management Group, LP, 830 F.3d 690 (7th Cir. 2016), cert. granted, No. 16-784, 197 L. Ed. 2d 894 (U.S. May 1, 2017). The Seventh Circuit had held that the Bankruptcy Code […]
Timing Is Everything: How to Make a Rough Assessment of Potential Preference Action Defenses (PART 2)
Editor’s Note: Part 1 of this article laid out the prima facie case a plaintiff needs to have in order to sue for a preference, outlined the major defenses and explained the importance and use of certain key documents in assessing and maintaining a defense. Part 2 now delves into the major defenses in greater […]
Timing Is Everything: How to Make a Rough Assessment of Potential Preference Action Defenses (PART 1)
Your company has just been served with a preference complaint. The complaint seeks to recover tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars even though your company already has taken a loss on the debtor’s accounts. Your initial response is anger at the unfairness of being sued. Fortunately, Congress included defenses to preference actions so that […]
Long-Term Disruptive Trends: Installment #2 – Transportation Industry Trends
This article is the second in a series of articles discussing long-term disruptive trends and their impact on restructuring activity. Read Bankruptcy Venue Reform, the first installment of this series. Introduction to Disruptive Trends The English Oxford dictionary defines “disruption” as a disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity, or process. Disruption is ubiquitous […]
Long-Term Disruptive Trends: Installment #1 – Bankruptcy Venue Reform
This article is the first in a series of articles discussing long-term disruptive trends and their impact on restructuring activity. Introduction to Disruptive Trends The English Oxford dictionary defines “disruption” as a disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity, or process. Disruption is ubiquitous in business. A few examples include customers filing for bankruptcy […]
To Tell The Truth; The Importance Of Full And Frank Disclosure To Preserving The Attorney-Client Privilege
Imagine yourself as the owner of a small company, or the CEO of a large corporation. The company is not doing well, but you are convinced the distress can be overcome. While sales are down, competition is fierce and your latest expansion – made with borrowed money – did not go well, the business is […]
Fraudulent Transfer Remedies – How Much is Enough?
One of the most powerful tools in the Bankruptcy Code available to bankruptcy trustees (or other estate representatives) to maximize the recovery of creditors is the power to avoid and recover fraudulent transfers of a debtor’s property. These include transfers that are made, or obligations that are incurred, by a debtor (a) with the actual […]
Battling Bankrupt Bargains – A Non-Debtor Perspective on Executory Contracts
mong the most powerful and best known tools the Bankruptcy Code provides a debtor is the ability to reject burdensome contracts or to assume (and potentially assign) valuable contracts. From the perspective of non-debtor counterparties to such contracts, it may seem that the Bankruptcy Code stacks the deck against them. The well-publicized spike in retail bankruptcy cases has highlighted the treatment of leases of non-residential real property (i.e., store leases).
The “Absolute Priority Rule” and Other “Rules” of “Priority” in Bankruptcy
Are They Really “Absolute,” Are They Really “Rules,” and Do They Always Provide “Priority” to Some Claimants Over Others? At its core, corporate bankruptcy addresses the problem of the “inadequate pie.” While occasionally the debtor will be solvent, in most cases, the debtor will, for lack of a better term, be “bankrupt”—that is, it won’t have […]