On February 4, 2014, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey in In re Surma, 2014 WL 413572 (Bankr. D.N.J. Feb. 4, 2014), held that rents were not property of the debtor’s bankruptcy estate because they were subject to an absolute and unconditional assignment of rents in favor of the secured lender. As a result, the court concluded that the debtor may not, through his Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, use or allocate rents.

Background

In Virginia Broadband, LLC (Bankr. W.D. Va. Sept. 9, 2013), the unsecured creditors committee moved to dismiss an LLC’s chapter 11 bankruptcy case alleging a flaw in the authorization of the LLC’s bankruptcy filing caused by an authorizing member’s individual bankruptcy filing. Specifically, the committee alleged that when the authorizing member filed his individual bankruptcy case, Virginia law divested him of his non-economic (voting) rights in the LLC.

On Friday, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed Wakulla Bank, headquartered in Crawfordville, Florida, and appointed the FDIC as receiver. As receiver, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Centennial Bank, headquartered in Conway, Arkansas, to assume all of the deposits of the failed bank.

On Friday, the Washington Department of Financial Institutions closed Shoreline Bank, headquartered in Shoreline, Washington, and appointed the FDIC as receiver. As receiver, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with GBC International Bank, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, to assume all of the deposits of the failed bank.

On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed First National Bank, headquartered in Rosedale, Mississippi, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.

Tuesday, the Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG) issued its report on “the standard-setting implications of