In the matter of Chandos Construction Ltd v Restructuring Deloitte Inc, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a judgment on the anti-deprivation rule, which is intended to prevent contracts from frustrating statutory and common law rules relating to insolvency. The Court established that a clause triggered by an event of insolvency or bankruptcy and which has the effect of removing value from the insolvent’s estate is void and unenforceable.

On May 3, 2021, Judge Marvin Isgur of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas held that indenture trustees must satisfy the “substantial contribution” standard to obtain administrative expense status for their fees and expenses incurred in a chapter 11 case. In his ruling, Judge Isgur expressly rejected the indenture trustee’s argument that it could obtain administrative expense status upon a showing that its fees and expenses were an actual, necessary cost of preserving the debtor’s estate.

On May 11, 2021, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas (“Court”) issued a decision[1] dismissing the chapter 11 cases of the National Rifle Association of America and its affiliate (“NRA”) for cause pursuant to section 1112(b) of the Bankruptcy Code.

Chapter 11 plans commonly protect a debtor’s key stakeholders that participate in the chapter 11 process from claims arising in connection with the bankruptcy case. The Office of the United States Trustee (the “US Trustee”), the branch of the Department of Justice tasked with monitoring bankruptcy cases, has recently taken aim at limiting the use and scope of these “exculpation” provisions in large restructuring cases across the country.

Background and Standards

Dans l'affaire de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies du détaillant nord-américain Groupe Dynamite, le Juge Kalichman, siégeant alors à la Cour supérieure du Québec, rend un jugement sur le traitement des taxes de vente pré-dépôt devant être remises par les débiteurs. La Cour exerce son pouvoir discrétionnaire afin de modifier l’ordonnance pour préciser que seules les taxes de vente accumulées ou perçues après la date de l’ordonnance initiale doivent être payées immédiatement aux autorités fiscales.

On April 19, 2021, the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari from the Second Circuit’s decision in In re Tribune Company Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation (“Tribune II”),[1] leaving intact the Second Circuit’s decision upholding the safe harbor defense to avoidance actions und

“The discharge of claims in bankruptcy applies with no less force to claims that are meritorious, sympathetic, or diligently pursued. Though the result may chafe one’s innate sense of fairness, not all unfairness represents a violation of due process.”

On March 19, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a unanimous decision[1] affirming that the mutuality requirement of section 553(a) of the Bankruptcy Code must be strictly construed and, therefore, that triangular setoffs are not permissible in bankruptcy.

In a year quite unlike any other, the landscape of Canadian restructuring law saw significant developments in 2020. The COVID-19 crisis put novel issues before the courts, challenged businesses in unforeseen ways and saw various supports and concessions offered to struggling businesses from governments and creditors. Ultimately, while the supports and concessions enabled many businesses to avoid insolvency proceedings in 2020, many others sought the protection of an insolvency filing, with industries such as the retail industry particularly impacted.

Dans l’affaire de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies (la « Lacc ») relative à Groupe Dynamite, le juge Kalichman de la Cour supérieure du Québec prononce un jugement au sujet de l’obligation d’un débiteur de payer un loyer post-dépôt dans un contexte où il ne peut pas utiliser les lieux loués.