The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) was enacted to require courts to enforce parties’ agreements to arbitrate disputes. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. Byrd, 470 U.S. 213 (1985). More recently, the Supreme Court has said that “[t]he federal policy is about...

A bankruptcy trustee can recover an avoided fraudulent transfer from both the initial transferee and subsequent transferees. But can a trustee recover from a subsequent transferee if the initial transferee isn’t named as a party to the case? A bankruptcy...

A recent decision by Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon was peppered with some harsh words for a defendant in an adversary proceeding. Judge Shannon said the party’s “failure to perform basic discovery responses and participation in litigation … has been breathtaking....

Here at the Bankruptcy Update, we frequently write on the intersection of insolvency and fraud, including collapsed Ponzi schemes. Another Ponzi-scheme related opinion recently issued from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In In re:...

Federal District Judge Randy Crane recently issued a written decision in Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. v. SSD Invs. Ltd.,[1] validating Wesco’s 2022 uptier exchange transactions and reversing a ruling by Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur. Background: The 2022 Uptier Transactions An uptier transaction...

By now, most lawyers should know the dangers of relying on generative AI for legal research. A big risk is that AI will generate fake case citations and quotations. Failure to check and verify the citations and quotations can create...

The filing of an appeal in federal court generally divests the lower court of jurisdiction.  This rule of appellate jurisdiction applies both to appeals from a district court to a court of appeals and from a bankruptcy court to a...

We have previously blogged about the Tenth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Miller, a case that concerns the relationship between section 544(b)(1) and section 106(a)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code.  As we explained in our prior post, section 544(b)(1) enables...

A federal district judge recently affirmed a bankruptcy judge’s ruling that a non-creditor was entitled to actual notice of an injunction that would bar the non-creditor from suing the debtors’ insurance carriers.  In re Boy Scouts of America and Delaware...

The Barton doctrine provides that a court-appointed receiver cannot be sued absent “leave of court by which he was appointed.”  Barton v. Barbour, 104 U.S. 126, 127 (1881).   “An action against a receiver without court permission, the [Barton] Court reasoned,...

This article originally appeared in The Bankruptcy Strategist. At the motion to dismiss stage, courts usually won't consider affirmative defenses. This issue arose recently in a preferential transfer case, where a defendant sought to dismiss a complaint by arguing it was a...

A recent appellate decision addresses the availability of damages when an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed in bad faith.  See Stursberg v. Morrison Sund PLLC, No. 23-1186, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 20286 (8th Cir. Aug. 13, 2024). The decision discusses both the interplay between Bankruptcy...

This article originally appeared in The Bankruptcy Strategist. To file bankruptcy in the U.S., a debtor must reside in, have a domicile or a place of business in, or have property in the United States. 11 U.S.C. §109(a). In cross border Chapter...

We have previously blogged about the section 546(e) defense to a trustee’s avoidance powers under the Bankruptcy Code.  A trustee has broad powers to set aside certain transfers made by debtors before bankruptcy.  See 11 U.S.C. §§ 544, 547, 548. ...

The Fifth Circuit recently ruled that a debtor can sell a preferential transfer action under Bankruptcy Code section 363 to a purchaser that is not a representative of the bankruptcy estate.  Briar Cap. Working Fund Cap., L.L.C. v. Remmert (In...

We have previously blogged about the section 546(e) defense to a trustee’s avoidance powers under the Bankruptcy Code.  A trustee has broad powers to set aside certain transfers made by debtors before bankruptcy.  See 11 U.S.C. §§ 544, 547, 548. ...

An appeals court ruled recently that chapter 5 avoidance actions are property of a debtor’s bankruptcy estate that can be sold in section 363 sales. In re Simply Essentials, LLC, No. 22-2011, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 21814 (8th Cir. Aug....

Section 544(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code enables a trustee to step into the shoes of a creditor and avoid a transfer “of an interest of the debtor in property” that an unsecured creditor could avoid under applicable state law.  See...

Sometimes we blog about cases with unusual fact patterns.  The cases don’t stand for any overriding legal principle.  They might not have application beyond the parties to them.  But they can make for good reading, giving insight into how judges...

We have blogged a few times about the Supreme Court’s decision in Siegel v. Fitzgerald and its implications. In Siegel, the Supreme Court invalidated the disparity in debtor-paid fees prevailing in most of 2018 between the 88 judicial districts that...

Persuading a bankruptcy judge to find “excusable neglect” after missing a filing deadline is usually a tough sell. You’d think it would be particularly hard when the party seeking relief was “belligerent and disrespectful to the Court and opposing counsel.” But...

This post is about a junkyard, hogs getting slaughtered, and a bankruptcy judge poised to sanction a creditor and her counsel.  The message from the case to would-be claimants in other cases is simple: do not “overreach.”  In re U Lock,...

It’s often hard to persuade a bankruptcy court to grant a motion for substantial contribution.  Any attorney thinking about making a motion should first ask herself two questions.  First, has my work benefitted both my client and other creditors?  Second,...

We have previously blogged about Siegel v. Fitzgerald, the Supreme Court decision last June that invalidated the 2018 difference in fees between bankruptcy cases filed in Bankruptcy Administrator judicial districts and U.S. Trustee judicial districts.  As we explained, the parties...

A U.S. bankruptcy court recently denied chapter 15 recognition to a case in the Isle of Man (IOM).  The court ruled that the foreign case was neither a foreign main proceeding nor a foreign non-main proceeding.  Although the IOM proceeding...

To encourage parties to transact with debtors in bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Code in corporate bankruptcies provides highest priority to “administrative expenses,” which include “the actual, necessary costs and expenses of preserving the estate.”  11 U.S.C. § 503(b); id. § 507(a)(2). ...

A bankruptcy court ruled that a creditor didn’t need to seek derivative standing to sue a liquidating trustee.  The creditor, himself a trustee of the debtor’s employee stock-option plan, had standing to sue without prior court permission because his suit...

The doctrine of equitable mootness is in the news again.  The Supreme Court recently denied a cert. petition in a case where the petitioner wanted the doctrine ruled unconstitutional. KK-PB Financial LLC v. 160 Royal Palm LLC, Case No. 21-1197,...

A discharge in bankruptcy usually discharges a debtor from the debtor’s liabilities.  Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code, however, sets forth certain exceptions to this policy, including for “any debt . . . for money, property, services, or an extension,...

The Fifth Circuit recently dismissed an appeal of a confirmation order as equitably moot.  The decision was based on three key factors: the appellant hadn’t obtained a stay pending appeal, the plan had been substantially consummated, and practical relief couldn’t...

Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution gives Congress the power to “establish . . .  uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States.”  While Congress has general authority to establish a bankruptcy system, bankruptcy...

A recent decision applied the ordinary course of business defense to a preferential transfer claim where the parties had engaged in only two transactions.  In re Reagor Dykes Motors, LP, Case No. 18-50214, Adv. No. 20-05031, 2022 LEXIS 70 (Bankr....

Another case shows the perils of waiting until the final minutes to meet a court deadline.  In re U-Haul, 21-bk-20140, 2021 Bankr LEXIS 3373 (Bankr. S.D. W. Va. Dec. 10, 2021). The debtor is a well-known truck rental company.  Years before the...

A federal judge recently allowed a trustee’s preferential transfer claim against a law firm to proceed but dismissed a constructive fraudulent transfer claim.  The decision highlights the pleading standards and analytical framework for motions to dismiss such claims.  Insys Liquidation...

Earlier this month – citing the “virtually unflagging obligation” of an Article III appellate court to exercise its subject matter jurisdiction – the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decried the pervasive overreliance by district courts on the doctrine “equitable mootness”...

A key goal of the Bankruptcy Code is to prevent corporate insiders from profiting from their employer’s misfortune. Section 503(c) of the Code makes clear: “there shall neither be allowed, nor paid... a transfer made to, or an obligation incurred...

Some courts permit debtors to designate vendors crucial to their business as “critical vendors.”  These are vendors that supply debtors with necessary goods or services.  With court permission, debtors are allowed to pay critical vendors amounts owing when a bankruptcy...

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 used when doing so would benefit...

At stake in a recent decision by the First Circuit was this: when a bankruptcy matter is before a federal district court based on non-core, “related to” jurisdiction, should the court apply the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure or the...

A creditor in bankruptcy must normally file a proof of claim by a certain specified time, known as the bar date, or have its claim be barred.  Bankruptcy Rule 3002(c)(6)(A) provides a narrow exception to this rule when a creditor...

In 2018, the liquidating trustee for Venoco, LLC and its affiliated debtors (collectively, the “Debtors”) commenced an action in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking monetary damages from the State of California and its Lands...

United States Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale recently dismissed the National Rifle Association’s Chapter 11 petition as not filed in good faith.  The decision leaves the 150-year-old gun-rights organization susceptible to the New York Attorney General’s suit seeking to dissolve it. In...

Debtors who ignore instructions from the Bankruptcy Court do so at their own peril, as a recent case from the First Circuit Court of Appeals illustrates.  In In re Francis, the First Circuit reminds debtors and practitioners that “the road...

A recent case shows how even late payments can be used to satisfy the ordinary course of business defense in a preference avoidance action.  Baumgart v. Savani Props Ltd. (In re Murphy), Case No. 20-11873, Adv. Pro. No. 20-1070, 2021...

In January, we reported that the Supreme Court had resolved a split among the Circuit Courts of Appeals regarding property seized from a debtor pre-petition, holding that “merely retaining possession of estate property does not violate the automatic stay.”[1]  The underlying...

In March, we reported on a brief filed by the Solicitor General recommending denial of a petition for certiorari filed by Tribune creditors seeking Supreme Court review of the Second Circuit ruling dismissing their state-law fraudulent transfer claims.  This morning,...

A discharge of debt in bankruptcy “operates as an injunction against the commencement or continuation of an action, the employment of process, or an act, to collect, recover or offset any such debt as a personal liability of the debtor....

It’s rare for a debtor in bankruptcy to raise allegations of involuntary servitude and a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment.  But one debtor did just that in a recent chapter 11 case.  The court had appointed a trustee to take...

It is well known in the restructuring world that a debtor in bankruptcy can’t get a PPP loan.  But what if you’re a debtor and decide a PPP loan could save your business?  Will a court dismiss the case so...

In 2019, we began following a Circuit split regarding a secured creditor’s obligation to return collateral that it lawfully repossessed pre-petition after receiving notice of a debtor’s bankruptcy filing.   In our prior posts, which you may wish to review and...

We have blogged previously about section 546(e), the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor for certain transfers otherwise subject to avoidance as preferences or fraudulent transfers.  See 11 U.S.C. § 546(e).  Among the transfers protected by the section 546(e) safe harbor are...

Every so often, we post an article on case law discussing proofs of claim.  The decisions often contain basic but important information about the timing and manner of claim filing. One set of cases concerns whether a claim will be deemed timely...

The Bankruptcy Code enables a trustee to set aside certain transfers made by debtors before bankruptcy.  See 11 U.S.C. §§ 544, 547, 548.  These avoidance powers are subject to certain limitations, including a safe harbor in section 546(e) exempting certain...

In an important affirmation of the rights and duties of a creditors’ committee, Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico has confirmed that a bankruptcy court may confer derivative standing...

On September 29, 2020, the House Judiciary Committee advanced H.R. 7370, Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2020, a Democrat-sponsored bill, to the full chamber. If enacted into law, the bill would usher in considerable changes in...

Last February, we blogged about the Third Circuit’s decision in In re Energy Future Holdings Corp, No. 19-1430, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 4947 (Feb. 18, 2020).  The Third Circuit approved a process for resolving asbestos claims in which a bar...

This post concerns computation of time under Bankruptcy Rule 9006.  The specific issue addressed is whether a bankruptcy court — when computing a filing deadline — should count a day when its clerk’s office is closed, even if the electronic...

“Unfair discrimination is rough justice. It exemplifies the Code’s tendency to replace stringent requirements with more flexible tests that increase the likelihood that a plan can be negotiated and confirmed,” announced Judge Thomas Ambro of the United States Court of...

Section 550 of the Bankruptcy Code provides that, when a transfer is avoided under one of several other sections of the Code, a trustee may recover “the property transferred, or, if the court so orders, the value of such property”...

This post provides a quick primer on administrative expense claims.  These claims are entitled to priority for actual and necessary goods and services supplied to a debtor in bankruptcy.  For a claim to qualify for administrative expense status, a debtor...

Courts reviewing a bankruptcy court’s decision to approve a chapter 11 reorganization plan over the objections of an interested party must consider not only the merits, but also (if implementation of the plan was not stayed) potential injury to the...

Debtors in chapter 11 cases are required to make quarterly payments to the United States Trustee’s Office.  These fees support the UST Program that serves in all districts but those in two states.[i]  Quarterly fees must be paid until cases...

When there are large numbers of substantial individual tort claims against a debtor, potentially involving claimants unknowable to the debtor who themselves may not know they have a claim, the bankruptcy process faces special problems.  One objective of bankruptcy is...

An appeal from a bankruptcy court’s final judgment must be filed within 14 days of when an appealable order is entered on the docket.  Parties should not delay past the 14 days even if, for instance, the bankruptcy court must...

When a debtor files for bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Code provides for an automatic stay of almost all proceedings to recover property from the debtor.  See 11 U.S.C. § 362(a).  A party in interest can seek an order exempting it from...

On December 19, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit became the first federal circuit court of appeals to hold that a bankruptcy court may confirm a plan containing nonconsensual third-party releases without exceeding the constitutional limits on its...

The U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows debtors to stay in control of their businesses in chapter 11.  But the Code also empowers bankruptcy judges to replace a debtor’s management in certain circumstances with an outside trustee.  This will happen if either...

Section 303 of the Bankruptcy Code allows creditors to initiate an involuntary bankruptcy case against a debtor. The petition initiating the case must be filed by creditors holding claims aggregating to at least $10,000,[1] and those claims must not be...

Ultra Petroleum entered bankruptcy in significant financial distress, but then – thanks to a spike in oil prices – the debtor’s fortunes changed almost literally overnight.  It is generally accepted that a solvent debtor must pay its creditors their complete...

A recent decision in Delaware discussed the Barton doctrine and the application of the automatic stay in chapter 15 cases.  McKillen v. Wallace (In re Ir. Bank Resolution Corp.), No. 18-1797, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166153 (D. Del. Sept. 27,...

In July 2016, Joy Denby-Peterson purchased a Chevrolet Corvette.  When she defaulted on one of her car payments a few months later, the Corvette was repossessed by her lender.  Denby-Peterson then filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13 of the...

The Bankruptcy Code gives a trustee powers to avoid certain pre-bankruptcy transfers of the debtor’s property to other entities. For example, a trustee can avoid transfers made with the intent to impair the ability of creditors to collect on their...

Judge Martin Glenn last week issued a decision in two related chapter 15 cases, In re Foreign Econ. Indus. Bank Ltd. “Vneshprombank” Ltd., No. 16-13534, and In re Larisa Markus, No. 19-10096, 2019 Bankr. LEXIS 3203 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Oct. 8, 2019). The...

In 1930, Clarence Bennett’s wealthy uncle died. He left behind shares in Berry Holding Company ("BHC") that were subdivided into three groups. Bennett was the beneficiary of dividends paid out of one of these groups and, for many years, received his share...

Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code enables trustees to avoid certain pre-bankruptcy transfers of “an interest of the debtor in property,” where the transfer was intended to defraud creditors or where the transfer was made while the debtor was insolvent...

Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, added in 2005, provides a route for debtors to obtain US recognition of their insolvency proceedings in other countries.  A foreign proceeding can be recognized under chapter 15 as either a “foreign main proceeding”...

We previously discussed Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn’s analysis of the Wagoner Rule in the Feltman v. Kossoff & Kossoff LLP (In re TS Empl., Inc.) case.[1]  The bankruptcy trustee (the “Trustee”) had asserted a fraud claim against the debtor’s outside...

We’ve focused a lot on third-party releases lately, as bankruptcy courts across the country continue to evaluate whether and under what circumstances they are permissible.  But, as a recent opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth...

Delaware Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon granted mechanic’s lien claimants $1.6 million for making a substantial contribution in a case by “demonstrably and materially facilitating the process of reorganization.”  In re M & G USA Corp., No. 17-12307, 2019 Bankr. LEXIS 1398...

Successful bankruptcy cases typically end with a court order releasing a debtor from liability for most pre-bankruptcy debts.  This order, generally known as a “discharge order,” prohibits the debtor’s creditors from trying to collect on those now-discharged debts.  See 11...

Creditors’ recoveries often hinge on claw-back lawsuits that trustees bring under bankruptcy law and non-bankruptcy law.[1]  Trustees can file claims based on non-bankruptcy law because Bankruptcy Code section 544(b) allows them to assert claims that creditors have standing to file...

Two weeks ago, we discussed asset sales under Bankruptcy Code section 363.  As that post noted, section 363 requires court approval for asset sales outside the ordinary course of business, with courts ensuring that sales reflect a reasonable business judgment...

We now address assets sales under Bankruptcy Code section 363.  The statute allows debtors to use, sell, or lease their property in the ordinary course of business without court permission.  But a debtor’s use, sale, or lease of property outside...

When a debtor files for bankruptcy, almost all proceedings to recover property from the debtor are automatically stayed by force of law. See 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). This provision, known as the automatic stay, is a central feature of the...

It’s time for a primer on the Wagoner rule and the in pari delicto defense, two concepts that arise when a debtor’s fraud leads to bankruptcy.  Trustees who replace a debtor’s management often sue those involved in the corporation’s misdeeds. ...

When a party files for bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Code imposes an automatic stay of litigation against a debtor for claims arising prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy case. See 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). Where there is a basis for...

A court in New York has allowed offshore debtors to take control of an investment account in the U.S. over the objection of a shareholder.   At stake was the court’s discretion to permit chapter 15 debtors to access the funds...

Fraudulent transfer law allows creditors and bankruptcy trustees, under certain circumstances, to sue transferees to recover funds received where a debtor’s transfers to the transferees actually or constructively defrauded its creditors. Under both the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act adopted by...

Section 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code provides considerable protection to a tenant in the event of a bankruptcy filing by its landlord.  Despite rejection of its lease, the tenant can elect to retain its rights, including the right to possession,...

Defendants in a lawsuit didn’t waive their right to arbitrate even after moving to dismiss and answering a complaint, a court held last week.  Arbitration wasn’t waived because the defendants hadn’t filed affirmative defenses or counterclaims and had taken no...

When a bankruptcy petition is filed, an automatic stay comes into effect staying proceedings against the debtor or the debtor’s property. 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). The stay centralizes litigation regarding the debtor and its property in the debtor’s bankruptcy case....

The Third Circuit denied a $275 million break-up fee to a bidder that was unsuccessful in its attempt to buy the crown-jewel assets in the high-profile EFH bankruptcy case.  In re Energy Future Holdings Corp., No 18-1109, 2018 U.S. App....

We generally advise clients to think carefully before commencing an involuntary bankruptcy petition against an alleged debtor.  One of the primary reasons for our caution is section 303(i) of the Bankruptcy Code, which provides that “(i) If the court dismisses...

Bankruptcy plans often include provisions releasing debtors and their officers and directors from certain potential liability. In Zardinovsky v. Arctic Glacier Income Fund, No. 17-2522 (3d Cir. Aug. 20, 2018), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit...

In January 2014, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (“Lehman”) settled claims filed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac arising out of each of their purchases of mortgage loans from Lehman and its affiliates. Lehman then sought to recoup the amounts paid...

The Bankruptcy Court in Delaware recently denied a request for an administrative expense claim to an entity that tried but failed to buy a debtor’s key assets.  The decision arises out of the first of three attempts by entities to purchase...

In 2010, Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. (“Lehman”) commenced an adversary proceeding against Shinhan Bank (“Shinhan”) to avoid and recover pre-bankruptcy transfers made to the South Korean bank.  In 2015, while a motion to dismiss the case was pending, a...

An accounting firm in the United States must produce workpapers to a chapter 15 foreign representative even if the law where the foreign main proceeding is pending would not permit such production.  CohnReznick LLP v. Foreign Representatives of Platinum Partners Value...

A recent decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals highlights an existing circuit split regarding appellate standing.[1]  Courts in the Fourth and Seventh Circuits have disagreed whether objection and attendance at a hearing are prerequisites for satisfying the “person aggrieved”...

On June 4, the Supreme Court decided Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No. 16-1215, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Sotomayor. The Court affirmed the Eleventh Circuit and resolved a circuit split about the meaning of “statement respecting...

Judge Martin Glenn granted recognition to a UK scheme of arrangement with third-party releases that lacked full creditor consent.  In re Avanti Communs. Grp., PLC, No. 18-10458, 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 1078 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Apr. 9, 2018).  While stating that “granting...

In a recent decision, In re B.C.I Fins. Pty Ltd. (In Liquidation), No. 17-11266, 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 1217 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Apr. 24, 2018), Judge Sean Lane granted a chapter 15 petition after rejecting a challenge to jurisdiction in the Southern...

Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code permits a bankruptcy trustee to avoid any transfer that would be avoidable by creditors under state fraudulent transfer law. Section 550 of the Bankruptcy Code permits the bankruptcy trustee to recover from the transferee...

In BFP v. Resolution Tr. Corp., 511 U.S. 531 (1994), the Supreme Court held that a mortgage foreclosure sale conducted in accordance with state law was shielded from avoidance under the Bankruptcy Code’s fraudulent conveyance provision, 11 U.S.C. § 548.  In...

Section 549 of the Bankruptcy Code permits a trustee or debtor in possession to avoid (and ultimately recover) a transfer of the debtor’s property “that occurs after the commencement of the case” and “is not authorized under this title or...

This post reviews some concepts concerning executory contracts. The ground covered will be familiar to insolvency experts and should be insightful for readers who don’t specialize in U.S. bankruptcy law. The springboard for the overview is an opinion issued last week,...

In U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Village at Lakeridge, LLC, No. 15-1509, 2018 U.S. LEXIS 1520 (Mar. 5, 2018), the Supreme Court analyzed the appropriate standard of review for appellate courts reviewing a bankruptcy court’s determination of a “mixed question”...

Our post last year concerning “[t]he long-running litigation spawned by the leveraged buyout of Tribune Company . . . and the subsequent bankruptcy case”[1] described a case--FTI v. Merit[2]--that was then pending in the Supreme Court.  In that case, the...

Section 1141(d)(6)(A) and section 523(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code together provide that debts owed by a corporation to a government entity are not dischargeable if such debts were obtained by false representations. Does this rule apply to claims by government...

The Second Circuit recently issued an important decision on a “related to” jurisdiction case arising out of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.  SPV Osus, Ltd. v. UBS AG, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 3088 (2d Cir. Feb. 9, 2018). SPV originally sued...

Confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization generally requires the consent of each impaired class of creditors.[1]  But, upon satisfaction of additional statutory requirements, a plan proponent can obtain confirmation of a “cramdown” plan over the dissent of one...

In Dahlin v. Lyondell Chemical Co., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 1956 (8th Cir. Jan. 26, 2018), the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an argument that bankruptcy debtors were required by due process to provide more prominent notice of a...

In Crystallex Int'l Corp. v. Petróleos de Venez., S.A., Nos. 16-4012, 17-1439, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 95 (3d Cir. Jan. 3, 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals held there could be no fraudulent transfer liability under the Delaware Uniform Fraudulent...

In this post, we return to cross-border insolvencies and examine one of the first decisions issued in 2018 by a bankruptcy court in a chapter 15 case: In re Energy Coal S.P.A., No. 15-12048 (LSS), 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 10 (Bankr....

Section 303(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code generally requires three petitioning creditors to join an involuntary petition, each of which must hold claims against the debtor that are not contingent as to liability and are not the subject of a bona...

Bankruptcy courts lack the power to impose serious punitive sanctions, a federal district judge ruled recently in PHH Mortgage Corporation v. Sensenich, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 207801 (D. Vt.  Dec. 18, 2018). Judge Geoffrey Crawford reversed a bankruptcy judge’s ruling...

This post examines an interesting intersection between bankruptcy and tax laws: if a corporation terminates its Subchapter S status pre-bankruptcy, can a bankruptcy trustee bring fraudulent transfer claims against the corporation’s shareholders to recover resulting tax refunds they receive?  One...

When the fallout from failed intellectual-property litigation collides with bankruptcy, the complexities may be dizzying enough, but when the emerging practices and imperatives of litigation financing are imposed on those complexities, the situation might be likened to three-dimensional chess.  But...

Every lawyer knows that it is important to enter into a signed engagement letter with a client before commencing legal representation.  But, as one law firm recently discovered, even an unsigned engagement letter is better than none at all.  The...

On November 9, responding to a request from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Solicitor General filed a brief at the Court recommending that the petition for writ of certiorari in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No. 16-11911, be...

A recent decision of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York provides important guidance on the limits of nonconsensual third-party releases in the Second Circuit.[1]  SunEdison, Inc. sought confirmation of a plan for itself and...

It is a unique characteristic of debt restructuring under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code that a majority of a class of creditors can accept a modification of the terms of the debts owed to the class members, as provided...

In Levin v. Verizon Bus. Global, LLC (In re OneStar Long Distance, Inc.), 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 18374 (7th Cir. Sept. 22, 2017), the Seventh Circuit recently addressed a situation where a debtor sought to reduce a creditor’s new value...

Figuring out when a pre-petition waiver of a jury trial will be respected in lawsuits brought in bankruptcy cases can be tricky. In a recent case, In re D.I.T., Inc., 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 3386 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. Oct. 2, 2017),...

Unsecured creditors and other stakeholders sometimes challenge the reasonableness of fees incurred by estate professionals in a bankruptcy case.  Whether this is to augment unsecured creditor recoveries or serve as a check on the private bar is in the eye...

In a recent post, here, we wrote about a court decision that discussed deadlines for proofs of claim in a case involving a Ponzi scheme.  Then, last week, another court issued a decision concerning late amendments to proofs of claim. ...

Court decisions about failed Ponzi schemes often make good reading. The fact patterns always involve actual fraud. The illicit schemes give rise to insightful discussions on various legal concepts. In the typical Ponzi scheme, the wrongdoer pays supposed “investment returns” to...

Last week, in Assured Guaranty Corp. v. Fin. Oversight and Mgmt. Bd. for Puerto Rico, No. 17-1831, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 18387 (1st Cir., Sept. 22, 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a noteworthy decision...

Avoiding a fraudulent transfer to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in bankruptcy has become easier, or at least clearer, as a result of a recent unanimous decision by a panel of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Zazzali...

The long-running litigation spawned by the leveraged buyout of Tribune Company, which closed in December 2007, and the subsequent bankruptcy case commenced on December 8, 2008[1] has challenged the maxim that “there’s nothing new under the sun” even for this...

For over eight years, In re Lehman Bros., No. 08-13555-scc (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.), has been one of the most active, complex bankruptcy dockets in the country.  A large portion of the remaining contested matters in that case are claims by trustees...

Some legal malpractice defendants are content to litigate claims asserted by debtors in the bankruptcy court.  But many others, fearing that the debtor’s creditors may view them as a deep-pocketed resource to augment their own recoveries, would prefer to defend...

Recently, in Gupta v. Quincy Medical Center, 858 F.3d 657 (1st Cir. 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit clarified the limits of the bankruptcy courts’ subject-matter jurisdiction over civil proceedings.  The decision, authored by Judge Lipez...

Bankruptcy Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil recently granted chapter 15 recognition to a Russian insolvency case over objections that the foreign representative had engaged in wrongdoing.  In re Poymanov, 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 2130 (S.D.N.Y. Bankr. July 31, 2017).  Judge Vyskocil held...

A recent decision of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York confirms that despite the increasing frequency and ease with which foreign plaintiffs and defendants can gain access to Bankruptcy Courts in the United States...

In the Nortel Networks Inc. bankruptcy cases, Judge Kevin Gross rejected a challenge by two bondholders to fees charged by an indenture trustee and its professionals.  In re Nortel Networks Inc., 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 674 (Bankr. D. Del. Mar. 8,...