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Second Liens Beware Delaware Bankruptcy Court Finds De Facto Claim Subordination Under Intercreditor Agreement

Executive Summary

On December 27, 2018, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware issued an opinion in In re La Paloma Generating Co., Case No. 16-12700 (Bankr. D. Del. Dec. 27, 2018) [Docket No. 1274], that should raise substantial concerns for junior secured creditors.

In particular, the La Paloma opinion determined that:

USA, Company & Commercial, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, United States bankruptcy court
No Contradiction in Contribution: Tenth Circuit Finds that Bankruptcy Court Approval of Settlement of CERCLA Environmental Claims Does Not Estop Subsequent CERCLA Contribution Claim

Overview

In Asarco, LLC v. Noranda Mining, Inc., the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that representations made to the bankruptcy court that the Debtor’s settlement of environmental claims reflected only the Debtor’s share of the cleanup costs did not judicially estop the Debtor from brining a contribution claim against another potentially responsible party for those same costs.

USA, Environment & Climate Change, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, US Environmental Protection Agency, Title 11 of the US Code, United States bankruptcy court, Tenth Circuit