During this mostly quiet week in restructuring, most of us are either away on vacation (think beach or ski) or home for the holidays, maybe back in our hometowns. For me, it’s always the latter, and home for the holidays is Virginia Beach, Virginia, where I sit while I write this blog post (alas, not the beach vacation some of you may be enjoying; my relatives live about 20 minutes from the beach and the high temperature this time of year is usually in the 40s).
In Judge Glenn’s recent lengthy decision recognizing and enforcing a restructuring plan in the chapter 15 proceedings of In re Agrokor1, a Croatian company in Croatian insolvency proceedings, he highlighted that the concept of comity – respect for rulings in other countries – remains an important U.S.
The Bottom Line
The Fifth Circuit recently held in RPD Holdings, L.L.C. v. Tech Pharmacy Services (In re Provider Meds, L.L.C.), No. 17-1113 (5th Cir. Oct. 29, 2018), that a patent license that was not specifically listed on the debtors’ bankruptcy schedules was automatically deemed rejected where it was not assumed within 60 days of the cases’ conversion from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7.
What Happened?
The Bottom Line
The Third Circuit, in a nonprecedential opinion in FBI Wind Down, Inc. Liquidating Trust v. Heritage Home Group, LLC (In re FBI Wind Down Inc.), Case No. 17-2315 (3d Cir. July 27, 2018), recently held that the bankruptcy court retained jurisdiction over the parties’ dispute that centered on the definition of terms in a court-approved asset purchase agreement because the claims fell outside the scope of an arbitration provision in the agreement.
What Happened?
The Bottom Line
If you were to walk down Fifth Avenue and see a store displaying a white apple suspended in a large glass case, more likely than not you would immediately think of the California-based tech giant who shares its name with the nutritious snack. Similarly, if the person walking in front of you on your way to the Apple store lifted her heel to reveal a candy-apple red shoe sole, more likely than not the name Christian Louboutin would pop into your head.
The Bottom Line
In a recent decision, the Fifth Circuit narrowly held that federal law does not prevent a bona fide shareholder from exercising its voting right in the company’s charter to prevent the filing by the company of a bankruptcy petition merely because it is also an unsecured creditor. In re Franchise Servs. of N. Am., Inc., 891 F.3d 198, 203 (5th Cir. 2018).