This panel will discuss the latest cross-border insolvency decisions from U.S. and Caribbean courts.
Gregory S. Grossman, Moderator
Astigarraga Davis; Miami
Hon. Stuart M. Bernstein
US Bankruptcy Court (S.D.N.Y.); New York
Kieran Hutchison
Ernst & Young; George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
George W. Shuster, Jr.
WilmerHale; Boston
This panel will conduct a mock oral argument at the conclusion of a confirmation hearing in an individual chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Issues unique to individuals who file chapter 11 will be explored by counsel for the debtor and an objecting creditor, as well as by the three-judge panel.
This panel will address the legal and forensic issues arising from the newest iterations of this very old form of fraud, including recent cases in the Caribbean involving “reverse merger” schemes. Panelists include the fiduciaries appointed in the wind-up of the Telex Free and Peters Ponzi schemes, two of the larges schemes in history and both with deep connections to the Caribbean.
This panel will discuss the effects of recent decisions regarding the Puerto Rico homestead exemption in chapter 13 cases; chapter 13 debtors’ pre and post-petition causes of action, and the disclosure and determination of value of same; and the management of plan provisions, as well as objecting to and defending them.
This panel will discuss the intersection of cross-border insolvency proceedings, such as foreign receivership and/or liquidation proceedings, and U.S. bankruptcy proceedings through a case study of such recent cases as the Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina in the British Virgin Islands and the Baha Mar Casino & Hotel in the Bahamas.
This panel will provide practical advice to attendees from the viewpoint of a chapter 7 trustee, an accountant and an attorney regarding completeness of schedules, how to properly prepare a debtor to face a chapter 7 trustee interrogation, and discussions on several administrative matters such as late-filed claims, asset-liquidation accounting and § 341 hearing continuances. The panel will also cover recent chapter 7 case law developments.
Puerto Rico judges will discuss attorneys’ fees in chapter 13 cases; summons, service of process, defaults and default judgments; the Puerto Rico homestead exemption law and recent decisions; and conducting evidentiary hearings (handling witnesses, documents and objections).
The panel will discuss Puerto Rico’s present economic condition/situation, the sequence of events that have led to PR’s present economic crisis, what should/can be done to restructure PR’s debt, whether chapter 9 is an appropriate tool to restructure PR’s debt or a solution to its economic condition, and the legal issues that PR is likely to confront in light of its economic crisis.
Insolvency practitioners from the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and South America will provide an overview of the most significant insolvency-related developments in their respective jurisdictions.
The recent insolvencies commenced by multiple shippers and oil and gas companies have raised several issues concerning the interplay of admiralty and insolvency law, especially in light of declining commodity prices and many shippers having either pulled their vessels out of service and/or decommissioned them.
