On June 25, 2017, Takata’s US arm, TK Holdings Inc.

In a significant ruling impacting commercial real estate lenders in Michigan, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an absolute assignment of rents that had been fully perfected (by demanding payment from tenants to the lender and related recording) precludes a debtor from asserting that such rents can be used as cash collateral in bankruptcy. The reasoning is that these rents do not constitute property of the bankruptcy estate. As such, the debtor could not proceed with its Chapter 11 case.

Background

On March 19, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit decided Grede v. FCStone, LLC, Nos. 13-1232, 13-1278 (7th Cir. Mar. 19, 2014), an opinion that reinforces the importance of the portability of investment accounts carrying commodity customer funds. The Seventh Circuit held that commodity futures customer funds must be protected in an insolvency situation, and that the release of customer funds to meet margin obligations should be upheld at all costs.

Kevyn Orr, a University of Michigan Law School graduate and former partner at the law firm Jones Day, has been selected by Governor Rick Snyder as Detroit’s Emergency Financial Manager (EFM). As EFM, Orr will be responsible for overhauling Detroit’s finances and city services, including negotiating with creditors and unions to restructure the city’s obligations and reduce its budget deficits and long-term debt. While Orr has stated he hopes to avoid a Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing, he has described this assignment as the “Olympics of Restructuring.”