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The Supreme Court May Finally Give Guidance On Trademark Protections In Bankruptcy

In prior posts, we discussed the perplexing issue of how and whether a trademark licensee is protected when the trademark owner/licensor files a bankruptcy petition and moves to reject the trademark license in accordance with section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code.

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Trademarks, Squire Patton Boggs, Bankruptcy, Supreme Court of the United States, Seventh Circuit, First Circuit
Divided Third Circuit Panel Affirms Bankruptcy Court’s Reconsideration of $275 Million Termination Fee

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently issued a 2–1 decision affirming the ruling of the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which reconsidered its prior approval of a $275 million termination fee in connection with a proposed merger. In re Energy Future Holdings Corp., No. 18-1109, 2018 WL 4354741, at *14 (3d Cir. Sept. 13, 2018).

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Third Circuit
Third Circuit Makes Clear That Plan Releases Can Extend To Post-Confirmation Acts

We have discussed plan releases in prior posts. Oftentimes, disputes involving plan releases revolve around whether, and in what contexts, third-party releases in plans are appropriate. Recently, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the relatively unique question of whether releases in a confirmed plan are binding upon post-confirmation purchasers of the debtor’s stock.

USA, Capital Markets, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Squire Patton Boggs, Res judicata and issue estoppel, US Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, Supreme Court of the United States, Third Circuit
Delaware Bankruptcy Court Finds Anti-Assignment Clauses in Debt Documents Enforceable in Claim Objection Fight with Postpetition Debt Purchaser

On June 20, 2018, Judge Kevin J. Carey of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware sustained an objection to a proof of claim filed by a postpetition debt purchaser premised on anti-assignment clauses contained in transferred promissory notes. In re Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC, et al., No. 17-12560, at *14 (jointly administered) (Bankr. D. Del. Jun. 20, 2018).

USA, Delaware, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
The Ninth Circuit Vacates Bankruptcy Court’s Designation Order, Holding That Purchasing a Subset of Available Claims to Block a Plan, Absent An Ulterior Motive, Does Not Constitute Bad Faith

Summary

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Ninth Circuit
Connecticut Bankruptcy Court Holds That Trademark Licensee Does Not Automatically Lose the Right to Use Trademarks When Debtor-Licensor Rejects License, Siding with Seventh Circuit in Circuit Split

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut recently examined a question at the heart of an existing circuit split regarding the consequences of trademark license rejection in bankruptcy: can a trademark licensee retain the use of a licensed trademark post-rejection? In re SIMA International, Inc., 2018 WL 2293705 (Bankr. D. Conn. May 17, 2018).

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Trademarks, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
The Supreme Court Extends Bankruptcy Protections To Even Dishonest Debtors

Can an individual debtor make an oral false statement about an asset to a creditor and get away with it by discharging the creditor’s claim in his or her bankruptcy? On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling in which the Court unanimously answered this question in the affirmative.

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, White Collar Crime, Squire Patton Boggs, Bankruptcy
Washing Away Actual Fraud? One Court Says You Can.

Can the recipient of an actual fraudulent transfer effectively “cleanse” the transfer if the funds are returned to the debtor? In a recent opinion, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania answered that question in the affirmative.

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, White Collar Crime, Squire Patton Boggs, Fraud
Bankruptcy Venue Reform: Are The District of Delaware And The Southern District Of New York At Risk?

How real is the threat to the District of Delaware and the Southern District of New York as the prime venue choices for corporate Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases? It appears that both are safe, at least for now.

USA, Delaware, New York, Insolvency & Restructuring, Squire Patton Boggs, US District Court for District of Delaware, US District Court for the Southern District of New York
Supreme Court Holds That Presence of Financial Conduits Does Not Trigger “Safe Harbor” Protection for Securities-Related Transfers Under Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code

On February 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court resolved a circuit split regarding the proper application of the safe harbor set forth in section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, a provision that prohibits the avoidance of a transfer if the transfer was made in connection with a securities contract and made by or to (or for the benefit of) certain qualified entities, including a financial institution.

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Supreme Court of the United States