Most corporate bankruptcy filings result in either a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (the Code) or a liquidation under Chapter 7 of the Code. Sometimes, however, neither option is viable and the debtor may need to seek a “structured dismissal” in accordance with Section 349 of the Code. Structured dismissals provide administratively insolvent debtors with a framework to distribute the estate’s remaining assets (without the additional cost of a Chapter 7 liquidation), wind down the estate, and obtain final dismissal of the case.

Last week was a bad week for landlords, with challenges to the restructuring plan proposed by the Virgin Active Group and the company voluntary arrangement ("CVA") implemented by New Look both being unsuccessful in the courts. Whilst the recent revocation by the court of the Regis CVA may provide a glimmer of hope, the general outlook is not optimistic.

US Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath of the District of Delaware entered an order on April 21 in In re Nine Point Energy Holdings, Inc., Case No. 21-10570 (MFW) (Bankr. D. Del. Apr. 21, 2021), finding that Caliber Measurement Services LLC, Caliber Midstream Fresh Water Partners LLC, and Caliber North Dakota LLC (together, Caliber) violated the automatic stay by sending “reservation of rights” letters to third parties that were providing services allegedly in violation of agreements between Caliber and Nine Point Energy Holdings, Inc.

The German Act on the Further Development of the Restructuring and Insolvency Law (Sanierungs- und Insolvenzrechtsfortentwicklungsgesetz – SanInsFoG) took effect on January 1, 2021, transforming the European Restructuring Directive of June 20, 2019 ((EU) 2019/1023) and introducing a self-administrated restructuring option outside the standard insolvency proceeding.

The Pre-Insolvency Restructuring Plan

Business headlines have warned of a potential “chilling effect on buyouts” as a result of the decision recently issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in In re: Nine West LBO Securities Litigation (Dec. 4, 2020). Contrary to the views of some other commentators on the decision, we do not believe that the decision is likely to chill leveraged buyout activity, to upend how LBOs have been conducted, or to significantly increase the potential of liability for target company directors selling the company in an LBO.

*Fried Frank published a memorandum titled COVID-19 Pandemic: Key UK Government and Bank of England Initiatives to Support Businesses on March 30, 2020 and published updates to this memorandum on April 15, 2020, May 13, 2020 and June 15, 2020. As we approach the expiry of a number of the UK Government's initial COVID-19 business support initiatives, this memorandum summarises the UK Government measures that have been announced and that are to be available to eligible UK businesses as we move into 2021.

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has ruled that proceeds from property that was fraudulently transferred cannot be recovered under Section 550 of the Bankruptcy Code.[1] This decision limits a subsequent recipient’s exposure where the initial transferee of the property had altered the form of the property that was initially received prior to transferring it to that subsequent recipient.

The Main Street Lending Program is designed to help companies that were in sound financial condition prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain their operations and payroll until conditions normalize. This White Paper gives a broad understanding of the program’s terms and implications by delving into the key questions that market participants are likely to have about the program and addressing the latest changes implemented in the final legal forms and agreements. 

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance (CIG) Act 2020, which was enacted on 25 June 2020, introduces a number of permanent changes to the insolvency and restructuring framework in the United Kingdom, some of which have specific ramifications for the aviation sector. Crucially, the moratorium provisions in the CIG Act do not displace the protections afforded to creditors who have registered their interests under the Cape Town Convention.

Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act: Key Features

Three key features of the CIG Act 2020 are:

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 came into effect in the United Kingdom on 26 June 2020. It makes major changes to UK insolvency law. The full extent of those changes will only become apparent in the following months, as the courts and insolvency practitioners grapple with its 254 pages. Three strange aspects of the Act will fundamentally affect how financings to UK companies are structured and documented.