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.

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”

On November 6, 2023, WeWork Inc. and several hundred of its affiliates filed voluntary chapter 11 cases in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. According to a press release issued simultaneously with the filings, WeWork also intends to file recognition proceedings in Canada under Part IV of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The press release also states that WeWork’s locations outside of the United States and Canada are not part of the reorganization process.

On June 6, 2023, the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Court”) confirmed Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC’s (“Serta”) Chapter 11 plan and held that Serta’s 2020 uptiering transaction (the “Uptiering Transaction”) did not breach Serta’s 2016 first lien credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”).

Investing in or acquiring distressed assets can be a lucrative investment strategy for those with a healthy risk appetite and a roadmap for sourcing and evaluating quality assets.

Following a steep run-up in crypto asset prices and valuations of crypto-adjacent businesses in the last two years, there has been a sharp increase in companies and assets in the space looking at deeply distressed valuations, liquidity crunches or formal insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings.

On December 5, 2022, in In re Global Cord Blood Corp., 2022 WL 17478530 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Dec. 5, 2022) (“Global Cord”), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) denied recognition of a proceeding pending in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the “Cayman Proceeding” and the court, the “Cayman Court”) because it was more like a corporate governance and fraud remediation effort than a collective proceeding for the purpose of dealing with reorganization or liquidation, as Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code requires.

On August 5, 2021, the Eighth Circuit reversed a district court’s decision to dismiss a confirmation order appeal as equitably moot.[1] The doctrine of equitable mootness can require dismissal of an appeal of a bankruptcy court decision – typically, an order confirming a chapter 11 plan – on equitable grounds when third parties have engaged in significant irreversible transactions