The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, voted on Friday, October 8, 2010, to approve a proposed rule clarifying how the agency would treat certain creditor claims under the new orderly liquidation authority established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

On September 6, 2010, Schutt Sports ("Schutt" or the "Debtor") filed petitions for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. This post will look briefly at the nature of Schutt's business, why it filed for bankruptcy and what it hopes to achieve while in bankruptcy.

In the wake of the recent financial crisis, the legal system continues to sort out rights and obligations of financial market participants. This is especially true for participants in the over-the-counter derivatives markets.

The tremendous growth of that largely unregulated market has been accompanied by the development of sophisticated contractual frameworks and specific bankruptcy legislation expressly intended to reduce uncertainty around the amount and type of claims that could ultimately be asserted by market participants following bankruptcy of a derivative counterparty.

IN RE: RESOURCE TECHNOLOGY CORP. (October 1, 2010)

The chapter 11 case of DBSD North America, Inc. (“DBSD”), f/k/a ICO North America, has been marked by aggressive tactics and extreme positions from its commencement. DBSD, a non-operating satellite communications company, and its second lien noteholders made clear their intent to cram down a plan of reorganization (the “Plan”) on DBSD’s first lien lenders.

T he recent surge in activity in the claims trading market in the wake of Lehman Brothers and other high-profile bankruptcies has created a backlog of open trades and heightened price volatility. This is a perilous combination. The lack of standardized trading documentation and uniform trading conventions, as well as the dramatic influx of new counterparties into the claims market, are factors that have contributed to longer settlement timeframes and increased uncertainty in the market.

Full text of the Court's opinion

In a 7-0 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court in Hudson v. Petrosurance, Inc., Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-4505, held that the Ohio's Liquidation Act does not authorize the Superintendent of Insurance to pay interest to an insurer’s creditors and other preferred claimants on allowed claims before paying the funds remaining in the insolvent estate to the insurer's shareholders.

On October 12, 2010, Consolidated Horticulture Group, LLC and Hines Nursery LLC (the "Debtors"), filed petitions for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. According to the Declaration filed by Debtors' President and CEO, Stephen Thigpen (the "Declaration"), Debtors are one of the largest commercial nurseries in North America, selling shrubs and container-grown plants to commercial and retail customers. Decl.

The Texas Rangers were sold in an August bankruptcy auction to a syndicate headed by former baseball great Nolan Ryan and attorney Chuck Greenberg. The final purchase price was $608 million—nearly $100 million more than the original offer for the team—and is a great example of how lenders can use the bankruptcy process to maximize the value of an asset.

Perhaps prompted by revelations that one or more Connecticut-based insurers failed to notify individuals or report known data security incidents or breaches until weeks, or even months, after the data had been lost or stolen, the state's Insurance Commissioner has issued stringent new reporting obligations applicable to all entities regulated by the Connecticut Department of Insurance (CDI), including, for example, insurers, agents, brokers, adjusters, health maintenance organizations, preferred provider networks, discount health plans and certain consultants and utilization review companie