In December 2010, the Trustee obtained a $5 billion settlement for BLMIS customers with allowed claims.  Plaintiffs in putative class actions challenged the settlement and the Bankruptcy Court’s decision holding that the class actions violated the automatic stay of the Bankruptcy Code and were otherwise enjoined.  Yesterday, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld the settlement and the Bankruptcy Court’s decision finding that the class actions were duplicative or derivative of the Trustee’s action and thus were void ab initio un

The healthcare industry was ailing in 2011. There were 88 publicly traded companies that filed for Chapter 11 relief in 2011, and of that amount, approximately 11 companies were in the healthcare industry. The healthcare industry led the group, with telecommunications and energy tied for second place (nine filings in each industry). The healthcare industry has faced many challenges over the years. For starters, hospitals are not always paid for their services.

In an earlier blog I touched upon the belief which exists within certain parts of the market that there is still a way to go in the re-pricing of non-prime assets. Some commentators are predicting that this re-pricing will take place through 2012 and into 2013, the hope being that we will start to see greater activity in the secondary market in the second half of next year.

In a recent decision from the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York by Judge Martin Glenn in theIn re Borders Group, Inc. case, Jefferies was awarded a "Liquidation Fee" even though it was not involved in the actual liquidation of Borders Group, Inc. (the "Debtors" or "Borders"), and was unsuccessful in procuring a going-concern sale for the Borders business. As a result, approximately 400 stores were sold in September of 2011.

The Court of Appeal has clarified in the case of Key2law (Surrey) LLP v Gaynor De’Antiquis [2011] EWCA Civ 1567 that administration proceedings do not constitute “insolvency proceedings which have been instituted with a view to the liquidation of the assets of the transferor” in terms of regulation 8(7) of the TUPE Regulations 2006 and therefore fall outside the scope of regulation 8(7).

Yesterday Governor Scott Walker signed into law SB 241 which permits non-judicial foreclosures for mortgages and assessment liens on timeshare estates and licenses.  The new law took effect upon being signed by Governor Scott Walker.

In its judgment of 11 October 2011, the English Court of Appeal analysed the terms of an aircraft purchase agreement (the “Agreement”) entered into by Gesner and the aircraft manufacturer Bombardier.  The Agreement was in Bombardier’s standard terms.  Gesner, the purchaser, sought to terminate the agreement on the grounds that Bombardier had delayed in fulfilling its contractual obligations.  Thereafter, Bombardier sought to retain certain monies as liquidated damages upon termination of the Agreement.  Gesner challenged this retention.

Application for an administration order in respect of FM Front Door Ltd. The application followed FM’s failure to make payments under a loan from the Dunfermline Building Society obtained to assist with the purchase of flats at the Skyline development on Finniestoun Street in Glasgow.  The loan was secured by a floating charge and standard securities over each of the flats. FM’s parent company FM Developments also granted a guarantee for the loan.

Clause 13 of the loan agreement provided that the grounds for default included:

Patient care ombudsmen are sometimes appointed to monitor the care provided to patients of medical facilities that have filed for bankruptcy. Courts, however, weigh a number of factors in determining whether an ombudsman should be appointed, and whether the patients and the facility’s creditors would benefit from the appointment.

A recent New York bankruptcy case holds that shareholders, directors and officers who dissolve a corporation to avoid paying a judgment against the business may be jointly and severally liable for a non-dischargeable debt in their personal bankruptcies.