Section 541(a) of the Bankruptcy Code creates a worldwide estate comprising all of the legal or equitable interests of the debtor, “wherever located,” held by the debtor as of the filing date.1 The Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay, in turn, applies “to all entities” and protects the debtor’s property and the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction by barring “any act to obtain possession of property of the estate . . .
On September 2, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a holding by the Court of Chancery that creditors of insolvent Delaware limited liability companies do not have standing to sue derivatively. This contrasts with Delaware corporations: the Delaware courts have recognized that when a corporation becomes insolvent, creditors become the residual risk-bearers and are permitted to sue derivatively on behalf of a corporation to the same extent as stockholders.
Introduction
On June 23, 2011, after fifteen years of hugely acrimonious litigation, the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Court”) issued a decision on a narrow legal issue that may end up significantly limiting the scope of bankruptcy courts’ core jurisdiction.
Section 108 of the Bankruptcy Code grants a two-year extension of time for a trustee in bankruptcy (or a debtor in possession) to bring law suits, provided that the applicable period to sue didn’t expire before the petition date. It also gives a short extension to the trustee for filing pleadings, curing defaults, and performing other acts on behalf of the debtor. These provisions afford a trustee and debtor in possession valuable time to discover and evaluate potential causes of action and to perform other acts to preserve the debtor’s rights.
On Friday, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed First Bank of Jacksonville, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed The First National Bank of Barnesville, headquartered in Barnesville, Georgia, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed Progress Bank of Florida, headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed The Gordon Bank, headquartered in Gordon, Georgia, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed First Suburban National Bank, headquartered in Maywood, Illinois, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
On Friday, the Office of Thrift Supervision closed First Arizona Savings, A FSB, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.