On Jan. 19, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a bankruptcy court decision awarding Ultra Petroleum Corp. noteholders $201 million in make-whole payments and $186 million in post-petition interest. Under the note agreement, upon a bankruptcy filing, the issuer is obligated for a make-whole amount equal to the discounted value of the remaining scheduled payments (including principal and interest that would be due after prepayment) less the principal amount of the notes.

In February 2017, Judge Katherine Polk Faila of the Southern District of New York issued a bench ruling1 in Cumulus Media Holdings Inc. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 24, 2017), in which she found that a proposed exchange of senior notes for revolver commitments would violate certain covenants of the issuer’s credit agreement protecting the term loan lenders.