The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the CAA), which President Trump signed into law on December 27, 2020, amends several provisions of the Bankruptcy Code. While a number of the amendments are applicable only to small businesses (e.g., businesses eligible to file under the new small-business subchapter of the Bankruptcy Code and/or businesses eligible to receive PPP loans), several others have more general application, as discussed below.
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Amendments of More General Application
In the United States, in a typical plain vanilla lending arrangement, if a counterparty files for bankruptcy, an automatic stay of enforcement actions is imposed that would prevent a lender from (i) foreclosing on the property of the debtor, (ii) terminating contracts with the debtor, (iii) commencing or continuing certain enforcement actions against the debtor or its property and/or (iv) setting off amounts owed under such arrangements (in each case unless a motion is filed and granted in the related bankruptcy case).
For the benefit of our clients and friends investing in European distressed opportunities, our European Network is sharing some current developments.
Recent Developments
On October 1, 2015, the Public Sector Legal Regime Act (Ley 40/2015, 1 de octubre, de Régimen Jurídico del Sector Público) ("PSLR Act") was passed by the Spanish Parliament. As discussed in more detail below, the PSLR Act introduces, among other things, the following reforms to the Spanish Insolvency Act (Ley 22/2003, de 9 de Julio, Concursal) ("SIA") and to the Spanish Public Sector Contracts Act (Real Decreto Legislativo 3/2011, de 14 de noviembre, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley de Contratos del Sector Público) ("SPSC Act"):
On September 5, 2014, Spain enacted urgent measures to facilitate restructurings and avoid the insolvency of companies that, under the previous regime, might have been forced to enter into an insolvency process ("RDl 11/2014"). RDl 11/2014 modifies several provisions of the Spanish Insolvency Act (the "Act"). The objective of the reform is to improve the legal framework that governs voluntary arrangements between creditors and the sale of distressed businesses outside of insolvency by removing obstacles that have previously impeded the successful reorganization of insolvent companies.
Aim of the Reform
On March 8, 2014, Spain enacted urgent measures to govern refinancing and restructuring of corporate debt ("RDl 4/2014"), modifying several provisions of the Spanish Insolvency Act (the "Act"). The objective of the reform is to improve the legal framework that governs refinancing agreements to remove obstacles that have previously impeded the successful execution of restructuring and refinancing transactions.
Principal Amendments
In In re KB Toys Inc.,1 the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the holdings of the lower courts that claims subject to disallowance under Section 502(d) of the Bankruptcy Code are “similarly disallowable in the hands of the subsequent transferee.” According to the Third Circuit, when a creditor owes property to the estate, until that property is returned to the estate, that creditor’s claim, regardless of who holds it, is impaired, and the subsequent sale of that c
Recent developments
The acquirer attempted to contractually transfer employees to a so-called "transitional company" (Transfergesellschaft) for a few hours only. The employees involved had previously signed five different employment offers presented by the acquirer, some of them limited, some unlimited in time. The acquirer subsequently accepted one of the offers, which was a fixed term contract.