Credit risk issues permeate supply chain relationships in both directions. Current circumstances seem to exacerbate these considerations as the supply chain and pervasive pandemic effects continue to impact all sectors at all levels. The following outline identifies some potential problems and possible solutions related to selling to and buying from companies that are insolvent, or in danger of becoming so.

THE GAMES

With Customers: Should you sell on a secured or unsecured basis?

Overview

In Hilal K. Homaidan v. Sallie Mae, Inc., Navient Solutions, LLC, Navient Credit Finance Corporation, Case No. 20-1981 (2d Cir. 2021), the Second Circuit affirmed the opinion of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, which held that private student loans are not excepted from discharge under Section 523(a)(8)(A)(ii) of the Bankruptcy Code, which excepts from discharge “an obligation to repay funds received as an educational benefit, scholarship, or stipend.” 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8)(A)(ii).

Background

Chapter 15 petitions seeking recognition in the United States of foreign bankruptcy proceedings have increased significantly during the more than 16 years since chapter 15 was enacted in 2005. Among the relief commonly sought in such cases is discovery concerning the debtor's assets or asset transfers involving U.S.-based entities. A nonprecedential ruling recently handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has created a circuit split on the issue of whether discovery orders entered by a U.S. bankruptcy court in a chapter 15 case are immediately appealable.

Although the automatic stay contained in section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code theoretically extends worldwide, enforcing it against international creditors, particularly sovereigns, can present practical problems in its application. The chapter 11 cases of Kumtor Gold Company CJSC and Kumtor Operating Company CJSC (collectively, "Kumtor") pending before Judge Lisa Beckerman in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 21-11051) have been testing the practical application of the automatic stay's global reach since the commencement of the cases in late May 2021.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently ruled that a debtor’s appeal of a sale order was statutorily mooted by Subsection 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code.

In so ruling, the Eleventh Circuit held that: (1) while the Bankruptcy Code bars relief for an appeal pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 363(m), it does not defeat jurisdiction; and (2) Subsection 363(m) applies to appeals from any sale authorized by the bankruptcy court, not just those properly authorized by the Bankruptcy Code.

On November 17, 2021, Alto Maipo SpA, a Chile-based run-of-the-river project, which uses the natural flow of a river to generate electricity without the construction of a dam, along with subsidiary Alto Maipo Delaware LLC, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 21-11507). The company reports $1 billion to $10 billion in both assets and liabilities.

On November 16, 2021, Riverbed Technology, Inc., an information technology company headquartered in San Francisco, along with various affiliates, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 21-11503). The company reports $1 billion to $10 billion in both assets and liabilities.

In In re Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, 12 F.4th 171 (2d Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revived litigation filed by the trustee administering the assets of defunct investment firm Bernard L. Madoff Inv. Sec. LLC ("MIS") seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in allegedly fraudulent transfers made to former MIS customers and certain other defendants as part of the Madoff Ponzi scheme.

With the confirmation of Carlson Travel’s plan of reorganization within 24 hours from the company’s filing, expedited confirmations took another step toward normalization. Carlson Travel (better known as Carlson Wagonlit Travel) together with 37 affiliated entities filed bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division) on the evening of Thursday, November 11, 2021. The debtors managed to schedule a joint hearing on the approval of their disclosure statement and confirmation of their prepackaged plan for Friday morning, the next day.

The Bankruptcy Protector

In the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Irma, wide swaths of Florida lost power. At The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, 12 elderly patients succumbed to the heat when the skilled nursing facility’s air conditioning system failed following the electrical outage. In response, Florida’s legislature passed a law requiring all nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have backup generators capable of maintaining cool temperatures.