A recent Delaware Supreme Court decision highlights the growing risks to companies of extensive statutory “books and records” demands that recently have become a favorite in the toolkit of plaintiffs’ lawyers and even activist shareholders conducting what are often speculative fishing expeditions under the guise of investigating alleged corporate wrongdoing.

On 16 June 2014 the U.S. Supreme Court denied Argentina’s petition for a writ of certiorari, effectively ending Argentina’s chance of overturning the Second Circuit’s controversial ‘payment’ interpretation of the pari passu clause, which requires Argentina to make ratable payments to the holdout bondholders if it makes any repayments to the exchange bondholders. Judge Thomas P. Griesa of the U.S. Southern District of New York, the designated judge for the case, appears to have been hoping for a quiet June as he was due to be on vacation.

PROBLEMS IN THE CODE: Reimbursement of Fees and Expenses in Chapter 15 Cases (citation: Adam G. Landis and Jeffrey R. Drobish, Reimbursement of Fees and Expenses in Chapter 15 Cases, XXXIII ABI Journal 9, 26-27, 72, September 2014) - Adam G. Landis and Jeffrey R. Drobish

THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE: Can Chapter 15 Be an Ally to Bondholders in Foreign Insolvency Cases? (citation: George W. Shuster, Jr. and Benjamin W. Loveland, Can Chapter 15 Be an Ally to Bondholders in Foreign Insolvency Cases?, XXXIII ABI Journal 8, 50-51, 91-92, August 2014) - George W. Shuster, Jr. and Benjamin W. Loveland

On June 19, 2014, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in In re Octaviar Admin. Pty Ltd, Case No. 14-10438 (SCC) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. June 19, 2014), ECF No. 18, granted the Foreign Representatives’ petition for recognition of the Australian liquidation proceeding of Octaviar Administration Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (“Octaviar”) pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code based on the presence of "property in the United States" in the form of: (i) claims and causes of action against U.S. defendants and (ii) a retainer held by Octaviar’s U.S. counsel.

Can a Foreign Issuer Participate and Present in Meetings with the Investment Community in the United States? As long as a foreign issuer is careful that no activities will constitute an offer or a sale of its securities under U.S. securities laws, it may present to the U.S. investment community. An offer is defined very broadly, and includes every attempt to offer or sell, or solicitation of an offer to buy, securities of the issuer.

Paul Omar writes on how the courts in Jersey have begun to take into account creditors’ interests within the just and equitable winding up procedure. In Jersey, many modern statutes, particularly in the commercial law arena, are modelled on their equivalents in the United Kingdom.

On June 6, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a trademark license agreement that Interstate Bakeries Corporation (“IBC”) entered with Lewis Brothers Bakeries, Inc. (“LBB”) as part of a sale of certain business lines was not executory and that IBC therefore could not reject the agreement under § 365(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. Click here to read more

The Opinion provides jurisdictional and procedural guidance for bankruptcy courts and litigants, and is significant because the Supreme Court provides an important clarification concerning Stern’s scope and meaning. Click here to read more

By: David H. Conaway, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Puerto Rico) on July 24, 2013 ruled that Sun Capital Partners was jointly liable with one of its portfolio companies for a $4.5 million withdrawal liability from a multiemployer pension plan.