Among the only certainties for the post-COVID lending world is the uncertainty of commercial real estate values. Among the classes of real estate that surely will be immediately diminished in value are hospitality and most brick and mortar retail, but even the value of industrial and office properties will be closely scrutinized as questions are posed regarding changes in how companies conduct their businesses and which types of businesses will recover most fully.

Editor’s Note: This was originally published in CFO.com on April 21, 2020.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is causing an unprecedented negative impact on businesses around the globe in nearly every sector of the economy. Both the US Government as well as Foreign Governments have and will continue to provide short- and long-term financial support to these businesses. However, this financial assistance will not be available to every business, nor will it be adequate in all instances to offset decreased revenue resulting directly and indirectly from the pandemic.

As COVID-19 cases continue to span the globe, a significant economic impact is being felt globally. Businesses have been disrupted, cash flows have been interrupted and economies have been thrown into a huge negative shock.

In many countries across the world, governments have amended their insolvency and corporation legislation, or enacted new legislation, in order to provide temporary relief to entities in financial distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog examines the impact of these measures alongside the current position in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The UK government has announced that it will introduce legislation at the earliest opportunity to, among other things, give businesses greater flexibility to help them emerge intact at the end of the pandemic.

On March 25, 2020, the Senate passed an amendment to H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (as amended, the “CARES Act”), which (as of March 26, 2020) is being considered in the House.

The complete text of the current draft of the CARES Act can be found here.

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked” – Warren Buffet

The tide has gone out on the municipal finance market.

While much of the discussion about the financial fall-out of the COVID-19 virus has focused on the massive wealth destruction in stock markets and pressure on corporates around the world, the impact on the largest financial market in the world- the $3 trillion US municipal finance market- cannot be ignored. Simply put, the market is imploding.

Bankruptcy Rule 8002 and Federal Rule 58 can sometimes look like this. Carolina and Khaled have a much simpler solution.

When can a Federal Court employ a federal common law rule to make its decision in the case? Justice Gorsuch answer this in Rodriguez v. Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp., U.S., No. 18-1269, 2/25/20.[1] The answer . . . less often than you might think.

So you (allegedly) violated a bankruptcy court order. Whether the debtor alleges you violated the terms of a confirmed plan, failed to provide certain notices required by the bankruptcy rules, violated the discharge injunction, or any other court order, you may be wondering what potential redress the debtor may seek. Although many violations of bankruptcy court orders and rules do not provide for a private right of action, many debtors seek to have their rights vindicated (in the form of the greatest vindicator, cash) through an action for contempt.