Eight international trade associations, including the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the European Banking Federation and the Futures and Options Association, have sent a joint letter to Michel Barnier, the EU Internal Markets Commissioner, and Timothy Geithner, the Secretary of the US Treasury Department, urging them to focus on greater international co-ordination in the preparation and implementation of the new regulations on derivatives to be introduced across the G20 jurisdictions.

As summarized in our bulletin of January 25, 2011, the Debtors filed their initial plan on March 15, 2010 and their first amended plan on January 25, 2011 (the "First Amended Plan").

New York’s highest court yesterday reinstated a $5 billion lawsuit brought by a group of banks, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo, against insurance giant MBIA. ABN AMRO Bank, et al. v. MBIA Inc., et al., -- N.E. 2d --, 2011 WL 2534059, slip op. (June 28, 2011). Click here for more..

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued its much anticipated decision in In Re River Road Hotel Partners, LLC, __ F.3d __ (7th Cir., June 28, 2011). In the closely watched case, the Seventh Circuit declined to follow the Third Circuit’s decision in Philadelphia Newspapers, 599 F.3d 298 (3d Cir.

On June 28, 2011, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the Southern District of New York's determination that the safe harbor provision in § 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code protects from the bankruptcy trustee’s powers to avoid transfers made by the Debtor, Enron Corp., to redeem commercial paper prior to maturity.

On June 23, 2011, the Supreme Court decided Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. ___ (2011), which as a practical matter may significantly limit the litigation of state-law claims in bankruptcy courts, and eliminates the previous risk that creditors, by the mere act of filing claims, submit to bankruptcy court jurisdiction with respect to all counterclaims of the debtor. Click here for more..

Enron seems like ancient history but the Second Circuit has just issued an important decision in an Enron appeal confirming that the redemption of commercial paper made through DTC is entitled to the Bankruptcy Code § 546(e) exemption for “settlement payments” and, therefore, exempt from attack as preferential transfers. Click here for more..

When Judge Learned Hand coined the phrase “indubitable equivalence,” he set an extremely high bar for confirming plans of reorganization over the objections of impaired secured creditors. Accordingly, when Congress codified the “indubitable equivalent” concept in section 1129(b)(2)(A)(iii) of the Bankruptcy Code1 we believe that it intended for courts to apply the provision strictly and only confirm indubitable equivalent plans under indisputable circumstances.

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held that the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbors against avoidance of securities settlement payments protect early redemption payments of debt securities. In so doing, the Court broadly ruled that the settlement payment protections are available for non-ordinary securities transactions that are not purchases. Enron Creditors Recovery Corp. v. Alfa, 09-5122-bk(L) (June 28, 2011) (2-1 decision).

The Chapter 15 Two-Step: Shall We Dance? (citation: Pamela Foohey and Eric Lopez Schnabel, The Chapter 15 Two-Step: Shall We Dance?, XXX ABI Journal 5, 34-35, 81, June 2011) - Pamela Foohey and Eric Lopez Schnabel