On September 15, Freddie Mac released a bulletin updating portions of Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (“Guide”) governing foreclosures and foreclosure alternatives.

Energy industry bankruptcies of all types are expected to increase, offering an opportunity for companies to acquire assets for their operating portfolios while taking advantage of the bankruptcy process. We have received numerous inquiries about how the bankruptcy process can be used to acquire assets. This Insight provides answers to frequently asked questions about what is known as the 363 or "stalking horse" bankruptcy auction process.

WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY?

This article was first published in the summer 2014 issue of NABTalk, the publication of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees.

On July 29, the CFPB and 13 state AGs announced a consent order that requires a consumer lender currently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy to provide $92 million in debt relief for about 17,000 U.S.

On July 22, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York rejected a bank’s motion to dismiss a putative class action adversary proceeding alleging that certain of the bank’s credit reporting practices violated U.S. bankruptcy law. In re Haynes, No. 11-23212, 2014 WL 3608891 (S.D.N.Y. Jul. 22, 2014).

The Eighth Circuit held that preferential payments are subject to a new value defense of § 547(c)(4) where the new value was provided by a third party that benefitted from the preferential transfers.

On February 14, the OCC issued Bulletin 2014-02, which clarifies supervisory expectations for national banks and federal savings associations regarding secured consumer debt discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings.

In Van Sickle, the plaintiffs each owned a royalty interest in a well that was originally leased by Comanche Oil Company, which later assigned its interests to Athens/Alpha Gas Corporation. Alpha later filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, and the plan was approved without inclusion of the Van Sickles' claims. The Van Sickles sought to hold both companies liable under the doctrine of successor liability for pre-bankruptcy-court-confirmation royalties under the N.D.C.C. § 47-16-39.1, which provides in part:

Over the past week, Fannie Mae has announced numerous servicing policy changes through a series of Servicing Guide Announcements.

On October 17, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-21, which revises servicers’ responsibilities in finalizing standard deed-in-lieu of foreclosures (DILs).