The avoidance powers contained in chapter 5 of the Bankruptcy Code permit the recovery of certain prepetition “transfers” made by the debtor – either as a preference under section 547 or as a fraudulent transfer under either section 548 or state common law, made applicable under section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code.  Typically, the “tran

“I’m inconsistent, even to myself.”

-Bob Dylan

“You should try the chicken fried steak.  It’s like a chicken and a steak got together and made a baby. A delicious, crispy baby.”

– Hoyt Fortenberry, True Blood

“Sometimes, you can make no mistakes, do everything right, and still lose.”

Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)

Claims estimation can be an important tool for a chapter 11 debtor, particularly to pave the way for proposing a chapter 11 plan.  How a bankruptcy court estimates wrongful death and personal injury tort claims (which have a jury trial right) is an interesting issue that was recently discussed by the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in In re North American Health Care, Inc.

As avid blog readers know, we’ve posted extensively on make whole issues, including several articles covering the ongoing make whole litigations in the chapter 11 cases of Energy Future Holdings and its affiliated debtors, which can be found here, 

On February 8, 2016 we reported on the decision of Judge Walrath of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in 

Determining how to increase or preserve a debtor’s liquidity is crucial to analyzing its deleveraging options. Companies with significant labor liabilities need to explore whether attaining cost savings through rejection of their collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) is a viable alternative.  The decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 

Addressing latent claims in bankruptcy cases has always been a challenge, and debtors are often left with uncertainty as to whether such claims have been discharged.  Although the legal standard for what constitutes a “claim” under the Bankruptcy Code in the Third Circuit has evolved to give debtors and potential claimants more clarity with respect to the treatment of latent claims, the uncertainty remains for plans confirmed prior to 2011.  A recent decision from the District of New Jersey, 

Forgot to Get a Court Order Approving a Postpetition Loan?  It May Not Matter