In a pivotal decision released May 19, an Alberta court ruled in favour of Grant Thornton Limited, the Receiver and Trustee in the Redwater Energy Corporation (Redwater) receivership and bankruptcy proceedings, upholding its right to disclaim Redwater’s non-producing oil wells and sell its producing ones. Gowling WLG served as co-counsel to Grant Thornton throughout the proceedings.

Continuing low oil and natural gas commodity prices have led to bargain prices at the pump, but also high tension in many boardrooms. This strain on the industry has resulted in many exploration and production, or “E&P,” companies seeking relief from high debt and reduced revenue in bankruptcy. In recent cases, those E&P companies have sought to reject their midstream gathering agreements, which they deem onerous and unprofitable.

36778   Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders v. Ernst & Young Inc. in its capacity as Monitor et al.

(ON)

Commercial law – Bankruptcy and insolvency – Interest

As solar industry observers will already know, on April 21st, 2016, (the “Filing Date”) SunEdison, Inc. (“SunEdison”) and several of its U.S. and international subsidiaries (the "SunEdison Group") filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Chapter 11 Proceedings”)in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “ US Bankruptcy Court”).¹

36728    Enmax Power Corporation, Altalink Management Ltd., in its capacity as general partner of Altalink, L.P., EPCOR Distribution & Transmission Inc. v. Alberta Utilities Commission, Office of the Utilities Consumer Advocate of Alberta

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FortisAlberta Inc., Altagas Utilities Inc., ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd., ATCO Electric Ltd. v. Alberta Utilities Commission, Office of the Utilities Consumer Advocate of Alberta

The Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (the “Convention”) and theProtocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters specific to Aircraft Equipment (the “Protocol” collectively with the Convention, the “Cape Town Convention”) signed on November 16, 2001 establish a special regime for the protection of certain interests in aircraft objects (within the meaning given to such term in the Cape Town Convention, an “Aircraft Object”), and

Trust claims against a borrower’s assets are something that no secured creditor wants to be confronted with. Such claims are often unexpected because they are, for the most part, undetectable. They lurk in the shadows, out of the reach of traditional due diligence measures and PPSA searches. As a result, even the most prudent of creditors can sometimes find themselves facing these undocumented and unquantifiable claims.

A recent Alberta case1 has addressed the proposed use of a plan of arrangement under theCanada Business Corporations Act (“CBCA”) where proceedings under insolvency statutes may be more appropriate.  In Connacher Oil, Connacher Oil and Gas Limited (“Connacher”) and 9171665 Canada Ltd.

This is the sixth in a series of alerts regarding the proposals made by the American Bankruptcy Institute Commission to Reform Chapter 11 Business Bankruptcies (the “Commission”). This alert covers the Commission’s recommendations regarding Chapter 11 plans of reorganization and Chapter 11 dismissal orders. It discusses the Commission’s proposed changes to plan confirmation and voting procedures, approving settlements contained in the plan, and releasing insiders from liability.

1. Recommended Changes to Confirmation and Voting Requirements.

The confusion over Bitcoin grows in the latest lawsuit brought in a California bankruptcy court by Trustee Mark Kasolas against Marc Lowe, a former employee of HashFast Technologies LLC.

The trustee alleges, among other things, that Lowe received from the bankrupt Bitcoin mining company fraudulent transfers which included 3,000 Bitcoin (“BTC”) in September 2013, valued at approximately $363,861.