This Quickguide outlines some practical considerations for companies whose contractual counterparties are experiencing financial distress, including what questions may be asked of the counterparty in relation to its distress and how to negotiate payment terms or recover debts.

1. Overview

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”

The Government intends to enhance the UK's cross-border insolvency regime with the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency (MLEG) and, after further consideration, Article X of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments (MLIJ).

Government concludes that the permanent Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 measures have been "broadly welcomed", although possible refinements identified A 'Post-Implementation Review' carried out by the Insolvency Service has concluded that the restructuring plan, the standalone moratorium, and the suspension of contractual termination (ipso facto) measures introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) have all been broadly welcomed by stakeholders and are seen as positive additions to the UK's insolvency and restructuring framework.  The review

An interim government report has concluded that the restructuring plan, the standalone moratorium, and the restriction on contractual termination (ipso facto) measures introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) satisfy their policy objectives. The report is part of the statutory review which must be carried out within three years of the measures coming into force.

In a dramatic reversal of restructuring plan fortunes, HRMC recently successfully challenged two independent mid-market Part 26A Companies Act 2006 restructuring plans: the Nasmyth Group Limited Restructuring Plan (the Nasmyth RP) and the Great Annual Savings Company Ltd Restructuring Plan (the GAS RP). To date, only one other restructuring plan has been refused sanction.

German real estate group restructuring plan sanctioned in London

Having failed to get its restructuring solution through in its home jurisdiction, beleaguered German real estate group, Adler, turned to London. After substituting a UK plc as issuer of six series of notes in order to propose an English restructuring plan, and in the face of fierce opposition from an ad hoc committee of 2029 noteholders (AHG), the group successfully forced the plan through just in time.

On April 19, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC that Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code is not jurisdictional. The decision requires parties timely to invoke that provision, or else risk forfeiting its protections. The decision also continues the Supreme Court’s trend of interpreting statutes to be non-jurisdictional (and thus waivable or forfeitable) in the absence of a clear congressional statement to the contrary.

Background

In a departure from prior precedent in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), a recent opinion by Judge Michael E. Wiles in In re Cortlandt Liquidating LLC,[1] effectively lowered the Bankruptcy Code section 502(b)(6) cap on rejection damages that a commercial real estate landlord may claim, by holding that the cap should be calculated using the “Time Approach,” rather than the “Rent Approach.”

Calculation of Lease Rejection Damages