- In one of the most high-profile and hotly-watched cases in the London restructuring market, on 18 February 2025, the English High Court approved the restructuring plan proposed by Thames Water.
- The Court gave permission to appeal the Court’s order to a group of challenging junior creditors, a subordinated creditor and Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard, with the Court of Appeal due to sit from 11 to 13 March 2025.
On September 10, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its opinion in Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. The Hertz Corp. (In re The Hertz Corp.), Case No. 23-1169, 2024 WL 4132132 (3d Cir. Sept.
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down three bankruptcy rulings to finish the Term ended in July 2024. The decisions address the validity of nonconsensual third-party releases in chapter 11 plans, the standing of insurance companies to object to "insurance neutral" chapter 11 plans, and the remedy for overpayment of administrative fees in chapter 11 cases to the Office of the U.S. Trustee. We discuss each of them below.
U.S. Supreme Court Bars Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases in Chapter 11 Plans
On June 20, 2024, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Court”) issued a memorandum decision and order in the adversary proceeding involving Robertshaw US Holding Corp.
Alice Eaton Featured at Wharton’s PE and Venture Capital Conference
Restructuring partner Alice Eaton spoke on the panel “Adjusting to a New Era: Redefining Value Creation in Uncertain Times,” as part of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania’s 2024 Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference on March 29. The panel covered the use of innovative financing instruments and structures for investments in distressed assets.
Elizabeth McColm Discusses Women in Restructuring at Winter Bankruptcy Conference
On April 22, 2024, in the chapter 11 cases of GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A.
Election of Joe Graham to Partner
Joe Graham was elected partner in the New York office. This year, Joe played a leading role in the chapter 11 cases of Avaya, Benefytt and Diamond Sports. He regularly advises on out-of-court restructurings, bankruptcy litigation and distressed investments. Joe earned his J.D., magna cum laude, and his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.
Kelley Cornish Inducted into “M&A Advisor Hall of Fame”
Since May 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued three decisions addressing or potentially impacting issues of bankruptcy law. These included rulings concerning the abrogation of sovereign immunity for Native American tribes under the Bankruptcy Code, and for instrumentalities of Puerto Rico under a similar statute enacted in 2016 allowing the Commonwealth to restructure its debts. The Court also handed down an opinion concerning a homeowner's entitlement to the surplus proceeds of a real estate tax foreclosure sale.
On April 19, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC that Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code is not jurisdictional. The decision requires parties timely to invoke that provision, or else risk forfeiting its protections. The decision also continues the Supreme Court’s trend of interpreting statutes to be non-jurisdictional (and thus waivable or forfeitable) in the absence of a clear congressional statement to the contrary.
Background
Exception from Discharge of Debts for Fraud Committed by Business Partner
On February 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, No. 21-908, 2023 WL 214441 (U.S. Feb. 22, 2023), where it resolved a circuit split in ruling that a debt based on fraud committed by, or a false representation made by, the debtor's partner or agent is nondischargeable in the debtor's bankruptcy case.