In the mid-1990’s I represented several trade creditors in a contentious Chapter 11 bankruptcy called Pro-Snax. At the creditors’ request, the bankruptcy court directed the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee one month into the case. Nonetheless the dispossessed debtor pursued a Chapter 11 liquidation plan. The creditors, which held a clear “blocking position” in terms of class voting, opposed the plan. The plan was denied confirmation six months into the case.
Suppliers of good and services (“trade creditors”) generally have no duty to determine whether their customers are operating an illegal enterprise. However a recent Fifth Circuit opinion presents an unprecedented “claw-back” risk facing trade creditors who unknowingly provide goods and services to a “Ponzi-scheme” enterprise.
The Janvey Opinion
After more than two years of study on what needs fixing, the ABI Reform Commission proposed hundreds of discrete recommendations on refurbishing the Bankruptcy Code. The 396 page report addresses a wide variety of topics, from modifying the rights of secured lenders in large corporate workouts to creating a viable restructuring path for small businesses.
The legal principles governing corporate finance are often complex. Sometimes, however, the simplest of errors can be the most costly. Such was the case with a large syndicated secured loan made to General Motors. Due to a simple filing error, what had always been intended by the lender and borrower to be a secured loan will be treated as unsecured.
The Second Circuit Opinion in Motors Liquidation
Owners of small business entities are frequently required to guaranty the debts of such entities. Those business entities might later file for Chapter 11, and may be able to achieve confirmation of a plan to restructure their indebtedness. The question then presented is whether this confirmation event affects the separate guaranty obligations of the owners? The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently explored this issue in In re: Larry
Most loan contracts include provisions allowing the collection of attorneys’ fees in the event the borrower defaults. These attorney fee provisions are routinely enforced in collection suits brought in state courts.
Insiders who loot their corporate entities often dispose of the cash proceeds in transactions with third parties. A recent Seventh Circuit opinion, In re Equipment Acquisition Resources, Inc., 14-2174 (7th Cir. October 13, 2015) (the “EAR Opinion”)addresses a common risk faced by a third party who receives cash from the defrauding insider.
Parties continue to skirmish over the sufficiency of the “cram-down” interest rate required to confirm a Chapter 11 plan over a secured lender’s objection. Currently bankruptcy courts will give some weight to the “prime plus” formula set forth in Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465 (2004)(plurality opinion).
On August 4, 2015, we posted: “Equitable Mootness In The Third Circuit: Dead Or Alive?”, which analyzed the Third Circuit’s opinion in In re One2One Communications. The post predicted that Judge Krause’s concurrence would likely result in further opinions on equitable mootness. Less than a month later we have such an opinion. InAurelius v. Tribune, 14-3332 (3d Cir.
I previously commented on a controversial fraudulent transfer opinion issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Janvey v. The Golf Channel, 780 F.3d 641 (5th Cir.