On January 14, the Supreme Court ruled that more than a mere retention of estate property is needed for a party to violate the automatic stay, vacating and remanding a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (In re Fulton, 926 F.3d 916 (7th Cir. 2019)) that held that the City of Chicago (City) violated the automatic stay by retaining vehicles that were impounded before the filing of the owners’ bankruptcy petitions. See City of Chi. v. Fulton, 141 S. Ct. 585 (2021). The decision resolved a split among several circuit courts.

El Auto del Juzgado de lo Mercantil nº10 de Barcelona, del pasado 29 de julio, ha permitido el nombramiento de un administrador antes del concurso para facilitar la venta de la unidad productiva antes de la declaración de concurso. Con ello, se ha permitido una medida equivalente al “pre-pack” anglosajón, favoreciendo una liquidación más eficiente y evitando incrementar el pasivo de la concursada.

On October 28, 2020, FERC declined to abrogate or modify firm natural gas transportation service agreements (“Gulfport TSAs”) between Gulfport Energy Corporation (“Gulfport”) and Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (“Rockies Express”) in response to a Rockies Express petition anticipating a potential Gulfport bankruptcy filing. After an expedited paper hearing, FERC concluded that the public interest does not presently require any modification, and thus, that the Gulfport TSAs on file remain just and reasonable.

On October 7, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) vacated, as moot, two FERC orders asserting concurrent jurisdiction to review the disposition of certain Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation (“PG&E”) power purchase agreements (“PPAs”) that PG&E sought to reject through bankruptcy. In a brief memorandum decision, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel explained that the orders had become moot when the bankruptcy court confirmed a reorganization plan that had PG&E assume, rather than reject, the PPAs.

Sarah Banda U.S. Bankruptcy Court (N.D. Ga.); Atlanta On May 15th, JCPenney announced that the company was filing for chapter 11 relief. Another in a trend of major retailers filing for bankruptcy. JCPenney's announcement was expected, as forced closures in the pandemic exacerbated the company's pre-COVID financial problems.1 However, what raised some eyebrows is the company's plan to spin its properties into a real estate investment trust (REIT) as a part of its proposal to emerge from bankruptcy.

On August 31, 2020, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado’s holding that certain student loans not guaranteed by a governmental unit may be discharged in bankruptcy.

On June 23, the New York County Supreme Court issued a rare preliminary injunction temporarily halting a mezzanine lender’s UCC foreclosure sale of the Mark Hotel in New York City because the procedures for the foreclosure sale were not commercially reasonable in light of conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (D2 Mark LLC v. Orei VI Investments LLC, 2020 WL 3432950 (2020)).

On June 22, 2020, FERC issued a declaratory order confirming its view that it shares jurisdiction with the United States Bankruptcy Court (“Bankruptcy Court”) over transportation agreements between ETC Tiger Pipeline, LLC (“ETC Tiger”) and Chesapeake Energy Marketing L.L.C. (“Chesapeake”). As a result, aside from obtaining approval from the Bankruptcy Court to reject its contracts with ETC Tiger, Chesapeake must seek a determination from FERC as to whether a filed rate may be modified or abrogated under the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”).

La jurisprudencia de la Sala de lo Civil del TS avala, con ciertos límites, las cláusulas de los convenios de acreedores en las que se prevé la pérdida del crédito de los acreedores que no comuniquen en un plazo determinado su número de cuenta bancaria. Una reciente sentencia de 2019 ha matizado el alcance tradicional de esta doctrina.

Nos acercamos a los 100 días de la pandemia que ha sacudido nuestro modo de vivir y trabajar y ha llevado nuestra economía a una situación de crisis cuya profundidad y extensión están aún por definir pero se esperan muy amplias.