The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that a creditor or trustee seeking to recover a subsequent transfer under Section 550(a) of the Bankruptcy Code need not obtain a judgment of avoidance against the subsequent transferee before proceeding with the recovery action.

On October 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a long-awaited ruling on whether Ultra Petroleum Corp.

In Short

The Situation: Courts have disagreed over whether a make-whole premium triggered by a borrower's bankruptcy filing must be disallowed as unmatured interest. They have also disputed whether the "solvent-debtor exception" requiring the payment of postpetition interest to unimpaired unsecured creditors of a solvent debtor survived the enactment of the Bankruptcy Code. Finally, courts have split on what rate of postpetition interest unimpaired unsecured creditors of a solvent debtor are entitled to receive.

In Short

The Situation: Bankruptcy courts have split on what rate of post-petition interest unimpaired creditors of a solvent debtor are entitled to receive. Bankruptcy courts have variously ruled that such creditors were entitled to the contractual rate of interest, interest at the federal judgment rate (about the rate on a one-year Treasury bill) as of the bankruptcy petition date, or an equitable rate. Another possibility is that no interest is payable at all.

Background

The German Insolvency Act says an insolvency administrator may sell a "moveable object" on which a right to separate satisfaction (Absonderungsrecht) exists if such object is in his possession. The right to separate satisfaction entitles creditors with such a right to be satisfied ahead of all other creditors from the proceeds of selling a separate pool of assets within the insolvent estate

Background

In cases where upstream or cross-stream securities are granted by a German limited liability company (”GmbH“), the German capital maintenance rules need to be considered. Under these rules assets that are required for the maintenance of GmbH’s registered share capital may not be paid out to the shareholders. This payout prohibition concerns not only payments, but also granting of securities in favour of loans granted to the shareholders. The managing directors of a GmbH are personally liable for payouts made in violation of these rules.