Asarco LLC v. Noranda Mining, Inc., 844 F.3d 1201 (10th Cir. 2017). In a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) contribution action, the Tenth Circuit ruled that a mining company, whose liability for a contaminated site had been resolved in a settlement agreement approved by the bankruptcy court, could still seek contribution against other potentially responsible parties (PRPs), claiming that it overpaid its fair share of cleanup costs for the site. Id. at 1208.

On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court in Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp., 580 U.S. __ (2017) held that a bankruptcy court does not have the power to approve a structured dismissal of a bankruptcy case that violates the Bankruptcy Code’s priority scheme unless the affected parties consent.

In a recent November 17, 2016 opinion, Delaware Trust Co. v. Energy Future Intermediate Holding Company LLC, Case No. 16-1351, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed two lower court opinions by holding that make-whole premiums can be enforceable even if the debt was automatically accelerated by a voluntary bankruptcy filing.

LITIGATION, ARBITRATION, INVESTIGATIONS AND FINANCIAL CRIME

QUARTERLY UPDATE

Welcome to the latest issue of our Quarterly Update, in which we look at some of the recent highlights and developments in banking and finance disputes and financial crime.

IN THIS ISSUE WE LOOK AT:

A salutary lesson: if you do not intend to be bound by a letter of commitment, say so clearly

GENERAL CORPORATE

In this issue, we focus on cases concerning directors’ considerations when making a solvency statement for a capital reduction, and whether “bad leaver” provisions containing compulsory share transfers are capable of being contractual penalties.

Statements of solvency on a reduction of capital: what must the directors consider?

The High Court has held in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA & others [2016] that payments of dividends were not made in breach of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”).

This is an extract from Financier Worldwide's August online publication entitled "Pension challenges in bankruptcy and restructuring processes."

REFLECTING ON THE LAST FEW YEARS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE OVERALL PENSION CHALLENGES ARISING FOR COMPANIES FACING BANKRUPTCY / INSOLVENCY AND RESTRUCTURING PROCESS? WHAT MAJOR TRENDS HAVE DEFINED THIS SPACE?

BACKGROUND

Halcrow Group Limited (HGL) and Halcrow Water Services Limited (together Halcrow), two subsidiaries of Halcrow Holdings Limited (HHL), were the sponsoring employers with legal responsibility for funding the Halcrow Pension Scheme (HPS).

In a recent decision, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware refused to enforce a provision in the debtor’s LLC operating agreement requiring a unanimous vote of the debtor’s members to authorize the debtor to file for bankruptcy. In re Intervention Energy Holdings, LLC, et al., 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2241 (Bankr. D. Del. June 3, 2016).

On May 16, 2016, the United States Supreme Court in Husky International Electronics v. Ritz held that the phrase “actual fraud” under section 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code may include fraudulent transfer schemes that were effectuated without a false representation. Section 523(a)(2)(A) provides that an individual debtor will not be discharged from certain debts to the extent that those debts were obtained by false pretenses, false representations or actual fraud.

At its heart, Episode 24 was about relationships – from the wayward dating lives of Richard and Dinesh to Big Head and Ehrlich’s marriage of “Bachmanity,” the Pied Piper entourage found themselves faced with the messy unraveling of unsuccessful relationships.