On November 11th, Reuters reported on the November 10 filing of bankruptcy court protection by Jefferson County, Alabama, the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The county declared bankruptcy after failing to reach an agreement with its creditors on its $3.14 billion debt. Hearings are set for November 21 and December 15 to decide who maintains control of the sewer system and to determine eligibility for Chapter 9. Bankruptcy.
On November 4th, the Federal Bankruptcy Court granted the SIPC Trustee's motion to establish procedures for the issuance of subpoenas for document production and depositions in connection with the SIPC Trustee's independent investigation into the business and affairs of MF Global. Access to documents produced by witnesses and attendance at examinations will be limited to the SIPC Trustee and his professionals. The SIPC, SEC and CFTC will have access to the discovery upon the execution of confidentiality agreements.
As MF Global, Inc. declared bankruptcy on October 31st, the CFTC and SEC released a statement advising that MF Global had informed them of possible deficiencies in customer futures segregated accounts. CFTC-SEC Press Release. On November 1st, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI is investigating whether MF Global diverted customer funds.
On October 18th, Bloomberg reported on H.R. 2433, the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2011. The bill would restrict corporate bankruptcy filings to the state in which a firm has its principal place of business or holds most of its assets. Forum Shopping.
- On October 12, 2011, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York brought TerreStar Network’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding one step closer to conclusion by approving the debtor’s $98 million settlement with two separate creditor groups over a certain purchase money credit agreement.
The House Judiciary Committee recently heard testimony on the benefits and pitfalls of proposed legislation that would change bankruptcy venue rules by imposing limitations on where corporations may file for bankruptcy protection. The hearing came in the wake of a statement by Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, in which he asked how Enron had been able to file its bankruptcy case in Manhattan considering that Enron was based in, and had substantially all of its assets and operations in, Texas.
A New York bankruptcy court recently considered the effects of Bankruptcy Code section 552 on a lender’s security interest in the proceeds of an FCC broadcast license and held that a prepetition security interest extended to proceeds received from a post-petition transfer of the debtors’ FCC license. Sprint Nextel Corp. v. U.S. Bank. N.A. (In re Terrestar Networks, Inc.), Case No. 10-15446, Adv. Pro. No. 10-05461 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Aug. 18, 2011). This result directly conflicts with Spectrum Scan LLC v. Valley Bank and Trust Co. (In re Tracy Broadcasting Corp.), 438 B.R.
On September 19th, the Ninth Circuit considered whether the exception to Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge for debts resulting from a violation of state or federal securities laws applies when the debtor himself is not culpable for the securities violation that caused the debt. The case involved an attorney who was required by court order to return the unearned retainer paid by a company that engaged in securities fraud. The attorney filed a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy before he was technically required to return the money.
- On September 16, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice amended its complaint to enjoin the AT&T/T-Mobile merger to include the states of New York, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Washington, and Ohio as additional plaintiffs. United States v. AT&T Inc., No. 11-cv-1560 (D.D.C.).
- On September 19, 2011, the United Stated District Court for the Northern District of Texas largely denied the motion to dismiss of Verizon Communications, and related entities, against claims that they defrauded investors and creditors via spinoff company Idearc.
Sending the Debtors back to the drawing board after almost three years in bankruptcy, in a 139 page opinion, the Bankruptcy Court has for the second time denied confirmation of the Plan of Reorganization for Washington Mutual, Inc. (“WaMu”), which was the owner of the largest savings bank ever to be seized by the FDIC.