On June 20, 2021, CP Holdings LLC and Pacrim U.S. LLC, holding companies for a portfolio of non-debtor subsidiaries which own and operate assisted living and memory care residences and offer third-party management services in the senior care space, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 21-10950).
After a sluggish year in 2020 for mergers and acquisitions among hospitals and health systems, 2021 has shown renewed vigor and is poised for considerable transactional activity.
On June 13, 2021, Washington Prime Group Inc. and several affiliates, which administer a REIT and are headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, filed petitions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Lead Case No. 21-31948).
On June 9, 2021, East Greenwich, R.I.-based jewelry company Alex and Ani, LLC filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware along with several affiliates. The lowest filed case number is 21-10917 (A and A Shareholding, Co., LLC). The company estimates $100 million to $500 million in both assets and liabilities.
The ability to assume or reject executory contracts is one of the primary tools used by debtors in a Chapter 11 reorganization. Where a debtor has a contract with a third party that is “executory”—meaning that ongoing performance obligations remain for both the debtor and the contract counterparty on the date of the bankruptcy filing—the debtor can choose to either assume or reject the contract under 11 USC § 365.
On June 7, 2021, Zuca Properties LLC of Geneva Switzerland, the owner of two penthouse condominium units located at 470 Broome Street in New York’s Soho neighborhood, filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 21-11082). The company estimates $10 million to $50 million in assets and $50 million to $100 million in liabilities.
On June 7, 2021, Katerra Inc., a Scottsdale, AZ-based “technology-enabled construction company,” filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 21-31861) along with several affiliates. The company estimates $500 million to $1 billion in assets and $1 billion to $10 billion in liabilities.
Subordination agreements are generally enforced in accordance with applicable non-bankruptcy law in bankruptcy cases. The decision in In re Fencepost Productions, Inc., No. 19-41542, 2021 WL 1259691 (Bankr. D. Kan. Mar. 31, 2021) recognizes limits to this rule. While the subject subordination agreements were generally enforceable, the assignment of Chapter 11 voting rights in such agreements was not.
On 20 May 2021, the UK government published a consultation paper in which it set out its proposals to revise the current regime for insolvent insurers (excluding Lloyd’s underwriters). The proposals seek to clarify and enhance aspects of the existing “write-down” power of the court under Section 377 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
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.