The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan recently issued an opinion in a case that involved mutual claims between the debtor and a creditor, and lifted the automatic stay to allow a creditor to exercise “setoff” rights provided by state law to recover its debt.1

The Background

Background

In our previous publication on the subject, we had discussed the changes introduced by the Ordinance dated 23 November 2017 (the Ordinance), amending the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) (see our Ergo Newsflash dated 24 November 2017).

Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy as a consumer is a voluntary decision. Once a Chapter 13 case has been filed, it is also up to the debtors to dismiss the case if they so choose.

What happens if, after a Chapter 13 case has been filed and a plan confirmed, a debtor decides to dismiss the case but the Chapter 13 trustee is holding funds that would have otherwise been distributed to creditors?

Numerous changes to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the “Rules”) take effect on December 1, 2017. The changes significantly impact the administration of consumer bankruptcy cases, and Chapter 13 cases in particular.

Some of the most significant changes to affect creditors, explained in more detail below, include:

Background

The partly liberalized Indian economy has been aptly referred to in the Economic Survey of India 2015-16 as one that had transitioned from ‘socialism with limited entry to “marketism” without exit.

Given the vexed ‘twin balance sheet’ problem chafing both banks and corporates in India, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC/Code) was a critical structural reform. Many issues have surfaced since the Code was operationalised and the courts and the Central Government have stepped in to iron out such issues in the last one year.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan recently issued an opinion in a bankruptcy case involving a husband and wife who filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Two proposed bills are working their way through the Michigan Legislature that would significantly impact state law pertaining to commercial real estate receiverships.

Specifically, House Bills 4470 and 4471 were approved by the Michigan House of Representatives in early November 2017 and have been sent to the State Senate for consideration.

There is nothing quite like a big sale to a new customer - the prospect of recurring revenue from a new source, the validation of business strategy, or the culmination of a successful negotiation.

However, there is nothing more disheartening than when a new customer is unable or unwilling to pay for the product you just shipped or services you just provided. Perhaps there is one thing that is worse, when a long-term customer fails to pay.

On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in PEM Entities v. Levin to decide whether bankruptcy courts should apply a federal multi-factor test or an underlying state law when deciding whether to re-characterize a debt claim as equity. The Court’s decision to grant cert in this case should resolve a circuit split and clarify the law as it relates to re-characterizing corporate debt as equity.