On June 7, 2016, Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court ruled on a motion to dismiss Diamondhead’s involuntary bankruptcy petition. The Creditors who filed the bankruptcy admitted to the Court that their intent in filing for bankruptcy was to remove management and to obtain a recovery for their equity investments. The “Opinion” is available here. This is the second recent opinion issued in this case.

In my May 26th post, I raised several questions that unsecured creditors in any Chapter 11 case should know the answers to and take action where appropriate.

In 2015, the Court of Chancery ruled upon the then novel issue under Delaware law as to what priority level advancement claims should be afforded in a receivership action. Then Vice Chancellor Parsons held that claims for advancement are not entitled to administrative priority, and instead are considered to be pre-petition, non-priority unsecured claims. For a link to a summary of the Court of Chancery decision, click here.

A clash between Netflix and Relativity Media in bankruptcy court has made public some interesting behind-the-scenes business dealings between the two companies, and in the process shed some light on the evolution of Netflix’s business and of online distribution generally.

In a 10-page decision dated June 6, 2016, Judge Carey of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court denied a motion to dismiss filed by a holder of a “Golden Share” of Intervention Energy Holdings, LLC (the “Debtor”). Judge Carey’s opinion is available here (the “Opinion”). A “Golden Share” is “A type of share that gives its shareholder veto power over changes to the company’s charter.

On June 5th and 6th, 2016, Houston-based energy firm Hercules Offshore Inc. and its affiliated debtors (“Hercules” or “Debtors”) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

In my May 26th post, I raised several questions that unsecured creditors in any Chapter 11 case should know the answers to and take action where appropriate.

On 27 May 2016, South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. ("STX OS"), once the country's fourth-largest shipbuilding firm by revenue, filed for court-supervised rehabilitation, in the Seoul Central District Court.

FI and D&O Since our last update, there have been significant developments in the FI and D&O landscape. November saw the first ever UK deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) announced between the SFO and Standard Bank. The DPA process has been available but unused since 2014 so the judgment and the SFO’s comments thereafter provided some much needed guidance on what the process involved. Significantly, weight was placed on Standard Bank’s early self-reporting and cooperation.

In a brief, 4-page decision released May 26, 2016, Judge Gross of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court granted a motion for summary judgment, barring state court litigation in California on the grounds of res judicata. Judge Gross’ opinion is available here (the “Opinion”).