Atari, Inc., the creator of the primordial video game “Pong”, filed for Chapter 11 yesterday in the U.S.

On Nov. 28, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in In re Vitro S.A.B. de C.V. issued a groundbreaking decision under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, which provides the mechanics for U.S. bankruptcy courts to deal with cross-border insolvency proceedings. Although deference to judgments of foreign courts is the norm under Chapter 15, in this instance the Fifth Circuit refused to enforce a court-approved Mexican plan of reorganization on the ground that it contained non-consensual non-debtor releases of noteholders’ claims against the debtor’s non-debtor subsidiaries.

The battle in California municipal bankruptcies between bond investors and Calpers, the California public employee pension system, began in the Stockton Chapter 9 bankruptcy case and continues unabated in the

Detroit has seen signs of revival in its urban core following the near-death experiences of GM and Chrysler. Unfortunately, its municipal finances remain beaten down by the city’s long and precipitous decline over the past several decades. Labor and legacy costs, incurred when the auto industry thrived and the popul

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently ruled that a perpetual, royalty-free, and exclusive trademark licensing agreement qualified as an executory contract subject to assumption or rejection under section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code.  The Eighth Circuit’s ruling is seemingly at odds with a 2010 decision by the Third Circuit which found an extremely similar licensing agreement to be non-executory.  These decisions may signal a circuit split on the issue, and in any event, create uncertainty for licensees who have acquired perpetual licenses in connection

Large law firm failures typically produce lengthy and litigious bankruptcy cases. A frustrated lawyer in one such case succinctly described the essential problem: “the assets walk, talk and, worst of all, have their own counsel.” To the inherent tensions and creditor demands of any large chapter 11 case are added  the raw pain, similar to divorce, that many partners feel at the downfall of an institutio

Judge Brendan Shannon of the U.S.

On August 28, 2012, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated a series of bankruptcy court rulings that had blocked Vitro SAB’s noteholders from filing involuntary bankruptcy petitions against Vitro’s non-debtor subsidiary guarantors.  In a decision authored by Chief Judge Sidney A.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, acting with unusual alacrity (oral argument was heard only one month ago), summarily reversed the district court decision in Longacre Master Fund v.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard arguments in a case that could have substantial implications on the trading of bankruptcy claims. While the court could choose to resolve the case, Longacre Master Fund, Ltd. v.