The authors of this guest essay, Evelyn Fletcher Davis and William T. Wood, III are partners in the Atlanta office of Hawkins Parnell & Young, LLP, where their practices focus on asbestos litigation defense.
On June 7, 2021, Katerra Inc., a Scottsdale, AZ-based “technology-enabled construction company,” filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 21-31861) along with several affiliates. The company estimates $500 million to $1 billion in assets and $1 billion to $10 billion in liabilities.
Subordination agreements are generally enforced in accordance with applicable non-bankruptcy law in bankruptcy cases. The decision in In re Fencepost Productions, Inc., No. 19-41542, 2021 WL 1259691 (Bankr. D. Kan. Mar. 31, 2021) recognizes limits to this rule. While the subject subordination agreements were generally enforceable, the assignment of Chapter 11 voting rights in such agreements was not.
In Dr. Thomas Markusic et al. v. Michael Blum et al. memorandum opinion 200818, the Delaware Chancery Court (the “Court”) declined to extend the Gentile doctrine. In so doing, the Court held that the counterclaims attempting to rely on it had to be dismissed.
Michael Traison Chicago/NYC – 312.860.4230
Michael Kwiatkowski Garden City – 516.296.9144
A creditor in bankruptcy must normally file a proof of claim by a certain specified time, known as the bar date, or have its claim be barred.
On May 31, 2021, ALH Properties No. Fourteen, LP, owner and operator of the Embassy Suites Houston Downtown hotel in Houston, TX, filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 21-31797). The company estimated $50 million to $100 million in assets and $10 million to $50 million in liabilities.
On May 30, 2021, Certa Dose, Inc, a New York-based pharmaceutical technology company that has developed a proprietary and patented method of delivering medicine to eliminate the risk of life-threatening overdoes, filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 21-11045).
In 2018, the liquidating trustee for Venoco, LLC and its affiliated debtors (collectively, the “Debtors”) commenced an action in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking monetary damages from the State of California and its Lands Commission (collectively, the “State”) as compensation for the alleged taking of a refinery (the “Onshore Facility”) that belonged to the Debtors (the “Adversary Proceeding”). The State moved to dismiss, claiming, among other things, sovereign immunity.
The COVID-19 pandemic shook the global real estate and hospitality industry as lockdowns were put in place across the globe. The sudden and unexpected lack of footfall caused revenues in physical centers such as restaurants, shopping malls and hotels to plummet, compounding existing structural inefficiencies and accelerating the speed of change for many businesses.