Category: Industry Updates
What to Do If Your Tenant Is Bankrupt
On September 15, President Biden announced a tentative deal with unions representing tens of thousands of railroad workers that helped narrowly avoid a strike that threatened to devastate the country’s delicate supply chains that have been strained since the beginning of the pandemic. Now the country awaits the outcome of the union member votes (which we may not know until mid-November), but even if the members approve the deal, the retail sector will still face empty shelves, job vacancies and surging inflation.
Uncertainty in the Pipeline: Energy Companies Navigate COVID-19
COVID-19 has sent the price of oil per barrel in a downward spiral. The plummet in business travel, cruises, vacations, weekend getaways, and non-essential travel have all led to a decreased demand for oil.
Bankruptcy Considerations in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 is taking an alarming and unfortunate toll on our country’s population. Each day, we collectively face daunting health risks, and the economic cost to individuals and businesses alike has already been, and will continue to be, staggering. Accordingly, more than at any point in the past decade, both debtors and creditors should consider the potential benefits of the bankruptcy process. This post discusses four basic bankruptcy concepts that always merit consideration, especially in these trying times.
Sears: Another Retail Giant Turning to Bankruptcy Court for Help
Started as a mail-order retailer, evolved to brick-and-mortar stores in urban areas and expanded to a big-box retailer through merger, Sears is now facing the most turbulent time in its history. On October 15, 2018, Sears Holdings Corp.—the holding company of Sears and Kmart—along with its affiliated entities, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. With assets of approximately $6.94 billion and liabilities of approximately $11.34 billion in total, the fate of “Where America Shops” remains unclear.
Venezuela Debt Update: Recent Developments in Arbitrations that Could Impact Restructuring Efforts
It’s hard to find something positive to write about Venezuela. Some basic facts tell the story of the misery there.
Consumer prices this year might rise one million percent. The minimum wage was increased by 3,000 percent so that seven million workers will now receive $20 a month. And many others live on just $2 to $8 a month and eat one meal a day. The poverty rate is a crushing 82 percent. Medicine is scarce.
Journal of Corporate Renewal Features Article by Daniel A. Lowenthal
On March 7, 2018, Journal of Corporate Renewal featured an article written by Daniel A. Lowenthal, Chair of Patterson Belknap’s Business Reorganization and Creditors' Rights Practice, entitled “Venezuelan Debt Crisis Intensifies as Its Leaders Ponder Responses.” Mr. Lowenthal discusses Venezuela's current debt crisis and the uncertainty of how it will unfold and how long it will take to resolve.
To read the full article, click here.
Non-Monetary Preferences
Most everyone who has been around the business and legal worlds for even a little while is familiar with the clawback by bankruptcy trustees of money that was paid by the debtor to creditors on the eve of bankruptcy. We bankruptcy lawyers know this as the avoidance of preferential payments under Section 547 of the Bankruptcy Code. Good credit and collection folks at our clients have developed an aversion to the word “preference” because they think the Code was deliberately designed to punish the diligent and reward the lazy (and, in a sense, they’re right).