On 28 March 2020, the UK government announced it would be implementing new measures to improve the insolvency system aiming to, amongst other things, support businesses under pressure as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting restrictions.
Government support package – relaxation of insolvency rules
The German Federal Government has resolved upon a draft bill for the mitigation of the consequences of the SARS-CoV2- Virus (COVID-19) pandemic (the “Proposed Legislation”). One of the goals of the Proposed Legislation is to prevent insolvencies of companies which encounter financial difficulties as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Proposed Legislation goes well beyond the earlier announcement made by the German Federal Department
Proposed Legislation to avoid COVID-19-related Insolvencies in Germany
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1054 into law today, marking a significant financial commitment by the state to shore up the financial position of California's major investor-owned utilities. The new law establishes a Wildfire Fund of up to $21 billion to provide liquidity for utilities to cover eligible, uninsured third-party damage claims resulting from future catastrophic wildfires. The law also establishes a new framework to encourage and certify utility safety practices intended to reduce the risk of wildfires ignited by power infrastructure.
Windstream Holdings, Inc.’s (“Windstream”) chapter 11 bankruptcy filing following its contentious litigation with Aurelius Capital Management LP (“Aurelius”) has rekindled market participants’ concerns over the effects of so-called “net short debt activism” – the efforts of creditors who, despite holding a borrower’s debt, seem motivated to push the borrower into distress over covenant or other defaults.
In February, following oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, we wrote about the hugely important trademark law issue presented by this case, namely: If a bankrupt trademark licensor “rejects” an executory trademark license agreement, does that bankruptcy action terminate the licensee’s right to continue using the licensed trademark for the remaining term of the agreement?
Oral argument before the Supreme Court was held on February 20 in the much-watched and even more intensely discussed trademark dispute Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC. The case presents the difficult and multifaceted question: Does bankruptcy law insulate the right of a trademark licensee to continue using the licensed mark despite the bankrupt trademark licensor’s decision to “reject” the remaining term of the trademark license?
On July 19, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals entered a decision upholding the results of a foreclosure sale against a debtor’s allegation that the sale was a preference because the bankruptcy estate could have sold the property for a higher price. Veltre v. Fifth Third Bank (In re Veltre), Case No. 17-2889 (3d Cir. July 19, 2018).
(Excerpted from “Retail Bankruptcies – Protections for Landlords,” Practical Law Journal, May 2018, by Lars Fuller)
Due to increasing competition from online sellers, recent years have seen a dramatic uptick in Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by multistate brick-and-mortar retailers – some that have dozens, or even hundreds, of storefronts. These bankruptcies create challenges for the commercial landlords that own the shopping centers, malls and other establishments that those retailers rented.
Ground leases are fairly common but sometimes overlooked property interests. A succinct but adequate definition of a ground lease was articulated by Herbert Thorndike Tiffany (Tiffany on Real Property § 85.50 [3d ed.]) as follows:
The Supreme Court held that a statement about a single asset can be a “statement respecting the debtor’s financial condition” for purposes of determining the application of the exception to discharge set forth in Section 523(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. Lamar, Archer & Cofrin LLP v. Appling, 2018 WL 2465174 (June 4, 2018).