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

American business experienced a near record number of mergers and acquisitions in 2016, and this trend is likely to continue in 2017. Such corporate transactions raise a number of legal issues, including employment issues.

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.”