The economic value of IP rights in US bankruptcy proceedings has risen rapidly. Due to Congress's unique view of trademark licenses, appellate courts are increasingly divided on the ability both of debtor-owners to freely reject them, and of licensees to continue to use them. In In re Tempnology LLC,1 the Supreme Court has been asked to provide much-needed certainty on these issues.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware recently issued an opinion that could mean that directors and officers of insolvent entities face liability for damages caused by the failure to timely file for bankruptcy protection.

How much stress can we expect to see for oil and gas producers and related companies as a result of the current low prices? And what special issues does this industry face when it’s time to restructure or file for bankruptcy?*

Declining oil prices

Interest rates that remain near zero and debt maturities that have been pushed out to 2017 and 2018 have helped drive chapter 11 filings to historic lows. Has this difficult environment put corporate restructuring on life support?

On March 14 2014 the Delaware Chancery Court found RBC Capital Advisors (RBC) liable for aiding and abetting the breach of fiduciary duty of the board of directors of Rural/Metro, stemming from the sale of the company to Warburg Pincus.

While the details of the court’s decision are contained in Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster’s 91-page opinion, several salient points are important to understand: