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End User of Electricity Forward Contract Found Not To Be Forward Contract Merchant Under Bankruptcy Code Safe Harbor Provisions

On January 15th, 2019, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio held that the end user of an electricity forward contact was not entitled to the benefits of the safe harbor provisions under Section 556 of the Bankruptcy Code. Section 556 allows a “forward contract merchant” to terminate a forward contract post-petition based on an ipso facto clause in the contract and exempts such actions from the automatic stay.

USA, Ohio, Energy & Natural Resources, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Bracewell LLP, United States bankruptcy court
Delaware Bankruptcy Court Finds that Section 546(e) Does Not Protect Fraudulent Transfers Following Supreme Court’s Ruling in Merit Management

The Bottom Line

In one of the first applications of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the scope of section 546(e) in Merit Management, Delaware Bankruptcy Court Judge Carey found that section 546(e)’s safe harbor did not apply to fraudulent transfers between two parties that were not financial institutions, even if the transaction passed through financial intermediaries.

What Happened

USA, Delaware, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, United States bankruptcy court
Insurance Rehabilitation Proceeding in Curaçao Recognized by New York Bankruptcy Court

The Bottom Line

In In re ENNIA Caribe Holding N.V., 18-12908 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Dec. 20, 2018), a bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York recognized a foreign insurance company’s rehabilitation proceeding in Curaçao as a “foreign main proceeding,” pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, over objections from the insurance company’s nondebtor parent company. In doing so, the court examined, among other things, what is required for a “collective proceeding” in a foreign insolvency.

What Happened

USA, New York, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Private Client & Offshore Services, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, United States bankruptcy court, US District Court for the Southern District of New York
Third Circuit Upholds Right of Tenant to Continued Possession of Rejected Lease Premises and Reduced Rent Payable to Purchaser After Sale of Premises

The Bottom Line

USA, Delaware, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Real Estate, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Third Circuit
SDNY District Court Holds That Bankruptcy Courts Have Core Jurisdiction and Constitutional Adjudicatory Authority over Involuntary Third-Party Releases

The Bottom Line

USA, New York, Capital Markets, Corporate Finance/M&A, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Bankruptcy, Res judicata and issue estoppel, US District Court for the Southern District of New York
Fifth Circuit Holds Executory Contract Not Listed on Bankruptcy Schedules Is Automatically Rejected Upon Expiration of 60-Day Period in Chapter 7 and Not Capable of Being Sold

The Bottom Line

The Fifth Circuit recently held in RPD Holdings, L.L.C. v. Tech Pharmacy Services (In re Provider Meds, L.L.C.), No. 17-1113 (5th Cir. Oct. 29, 2018), that a patent license that was not specifically listed on the debtors’ bankruptcy schedules was automatically deemed rejected where it was not assumed within 60 days of the cases’ conversion from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7.

What Happened?

USA, Texas, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Patents, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Bankruptcy, Fifth Circuit
Third Circuit Remands W.R. Grace Decision Concerning Plan Channeling Injunction and Insurance Providers, Providing Additional Insights for Third Parties and Claimants

The Bottom Line

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Insurance, Litigation, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Third Circuit
Horizontal Gifting Upheld in Chapter 11 Plan in the Third Circuit

The Bottom Line

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream at Preference Claims

The Eleventh Circuit recently found in favor of Blue Bell Creameries, Inc. by rejecting its own earlier dicta and explicitly expanding the preference payment defense known as “new value.” This provides additional protection for companies doing business with a debtor in the 90 days prior to bankruptcy.

THE SCOOP: BRUNO’S V. BLUE BELL

USA, Banking, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Bracewell LLP, Bankruptcy, Debtor, Eleventh Circuit
Fourth Circuit Upholds Requirement That Appellant Have an Economic Stake in Outcome of Appeal to Be a ‘Person Aggrieved’ and Boots Moot Appeal Too

The Bottom Line

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Fourth Circuit