Automotive sales in North America continue to climb, and many suppliers are prospering. However, there are some companies who are struggling and who may face bankruptcy. We have seen companies such as A123 Systems and certain subsidiaries of Revstone Industries recently file for protection under the Bankruptcy Code. How can a supplier to a troubled company protect itself? Must a supplier continue to supply on credit terms? The Uniform Commercial Code may assist such a supplier in this situation.
Media reports re A123 System’s bankruptcy confirm that A123′s intellectual property is an important part throughout the lifecycle of a struggling company. While Johnson Controls was an initial suitor for A123′s assets, the Wanxiang Group is also now inserting itself into the bankruptcy proceeding.
AMR Corp. and its subsidiaries (collectively “AMR”), including American Airlines Inc., filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) on November 29, 2011.
On July 9, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago American Mfg., LLC (No. 11-3920), a case that addresses the effect of a bankruptcy trustee's rejection of trademark licenses. For years, the Bankruptcy Code's definition of "intellectual property" has excluded trademarks. But the Code provides very specific guidelines on the treatment of other intellectual property licenses in section 365(n), which was added by Congress in 1988 following the Fourth Circuit's decision in Lubrizol Enterprises, Inc.
On May 15, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an important opinion1 in the ongoing fraudulent conveyance litigation brought by the unsecured creditors’ committee in the bankruptcy of homebuilder TOUSA, Inc. (“TOUSA”).
London - On 29 February 2012, the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in the much publicised ‘Lehman client money’ case1, ruling in favour of those clients of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (“LBIE”) whose money ought to have been, but never was, segregated from other assets held by LBIE.
There has been a high volume of bankruptcy filings over the last three years of the economic downturn and they do not show any signs of letting up. Whether it is Hostess Brands—with the future of Twinkies at risk, the prospect of iconic Kodak in the Bankruptcy Court or
After filing more than 275 copyright infringement lawsuits, it now turns out that Righthaven was not the owner of the copyrights asserted in the lawsuit, and as a result is now on the verge of bankruptcy. The copyright infringement claims were made for reposting pictures and stories previously published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, owned by Stephens Media.
Several states have recently added provisions to their insurance rehabilitation and liquidation acts which address the rights of parties to certain derivatives transactions with an insurance company in the event that an order of rehabilitation or liquidation is entered against the insurer. In short, these laws allow parties to exercise certain early termination and close-out netting provisions without regard to the applicable stay mechanism under state insurance insolvency law.
Sometimes state legislatures react slowly to judge-made law and sometimes they move swiftly to correct perceived problems created by court rulings. Often, such rash legislative action is not well thought-out or properly drafted, making the solution worse than the fix. However, in Florida, within one legislative session, the Florida Legislature and governor considered and enacted a set of amendments to Florida's limited liability statute that hopefully will signal the business community that Florida knows how to pass laws that make sense.