Business Bankruptcy
Valuation: The Pillar of Corporate Restructuring
Bankruptcy Valuation Valuation—the estimation of an entity’s worth—plays a crucial role in all stages of a commercial bankruptcy, as well in any out-of-court restructuring.¹ Valuation can be critical at the beginning of a bankruptcy case in determining whether the debtor can use cash collateral or obtain debtor-in-possession financing. At the confirmation stage, valuation plays a […]
Opportunities in Bankruptcy: Turning Coal Into Diamonds
“The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” – Baron Rothschild Don’t Panic, There Are Many Opportunities in Bankruptcy When a client or a competitor files for bankruptcy, it is natural to reflect on the downside. What’s going to happen to my outstanding receivable? Is the market primed for a downturn? How […]
Review of the NAFER 2018 Annual Conference in Chicago
NAFER (the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers) held another wisdom-rich conference in October, this time at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. It was the seventh annual event and attracted 200 attendees. The conference included the Training Camp as well as panel discussions on snares and pitfalls for receivers, cryptocurrency, overseas asset recovery and more. […]
What Constitutes the “Legal Rate” in a Solvent Debtor Bankruptcy Case?
Chapter 11 bankruptcies find the debtor generally to be insolvent, but not always. Occasionally, a debtor will emerge from the bankruptcy process as a solvent entity, and in those situations, Bankruptcy Code §726(a)(5) may entitle creditors of the debtor’s estate to post-petition “interest at the legal rate from the date of filing the petition.”[1] In […]
From Penthouse to Ground Floor – The Penthouse Magazine Bankruptcy
The Life, Death and Many Reincarnations of Penthouse Magazine Penthouse International, publisher of Penthouse Magazine, sold for $11.2 million in June. The company was worth about $700 million (adjusted for inflation) at its height. The latest Penthouse Magazine bankruptcy highlights just how far Penthouse has fallen. The New Owner The buyer was WGCZ, which also owns […]
Lender Liability Is Alive and Well: A Case Study
The relationship between a lender and borrower can be complex. The borrower wants capital to run and grow its business and the lenders want to earn a return and eventually get its principal back. If the borrower complies with the terms of the loan, all is good. If the borrower breaches then the lender has […]
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 […]