On October 30, 2022, wealth advisory, risk management services and insurance brokerage services provider Vesta Holdings LLC of Mongomeryville, PA filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 22-11019) along with two affiliates. The company reports $100 million to $500 million in both assets and liabilities.
As the UK teeters on the brink of what would appear to be an inevitable recession, new restructuring tools introduced in the UK in 2020 pursuant to the Corporate Insolvency & Governance Act 2020 (“CIGA”) will ensure that issuers and other distressed borrowers can execute more creative and aggressive restructuring strategies than were possible during previous market downturns. A brief summary of the new UK restructuring plan is set out below, together with some examples as to how the restructuring plan is being used in practice.
What is the so-called "creditor duty"?
This is the duty, introduced into English common law by the leading case of West Mercia Safetywear v Dodd1 in 1988, of company directors to consider, or act in accordance with, the interests of the company's creditors when the company becomes insolvent, or when it approaches, or is at real risk of insolvency.
Background
On September 27, 2022, Phoenix Services Topco LLC, a steel mill service provider with approximately 2,600 employees, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 22-10906). The company reports $500 million to $1 billion in both assets and liabilities.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently ruled in the Puerto Rico bankruptcy case that Fifth Amendment takings claims cannot be discharged or impaired by a bankruptcy plan. As a matter of first impression in that circuit, the Court disagreed with the Ninth Circuit and held that former property owners affected by prepetition takings must be paid in full.
In re Fin. Oversight & Mgmt. Bd., 41 F.4th 29 (1st Cir. 2022)
On August 28, 2022, Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Packable Holdings, LLC, a privately-owned tech-enabled e-commerce company, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 22-10797). The company reports $100 million to $500 million in both assets and liabilities.
On August 23, 2022, College Park, Georgia-based ExpressJet Airlines LLC, a leading regional airline connecting millions of passengers to North America monthly, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 22-10787). The company reports $10 million to $50 million in both assets and liabilities.
On August 23, 2022 (the “Petition Date”), Rochester, New York-based Carestream Health, Inc.
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that an agreement between a debtor, a surety, and third-party beneficiaries was not an executory contract and, thus, was ineligible to pass-through the bankruptcy unaffected. The Fifth Circuit, however, adopted a modified Countryman test for muti-party executory contracts. Matter of Falcon V, L.L.C., 2022 WL 3274174 (5th Cir. 2022).
Background
On 22 July 2022, the English High Court sanctioned Houst Limited’s (“Houst” or the “Company”) restructuring plan (the “Restructuring Plan”), which significantly, is the first time a Restructuring Plan has been used to cram down HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) as preferential creditor.1
Background