The Bankruptcy Protector
Two recent decisions by U.S. District Courts have rejected attempts to include nonconsensual third party releases in chapter 11 reorganization plans. These rulings suggest third party releases may be facing increasing push back from the courts.
The Bankruptcy Protector
This entry is part of Nelson Mullins’s ongoing “Bankruptcy Basics” blog series that is intended to address foundational aspects of bankruptcy for non-bankruptcy practitioners and professionals. This entry will explain the concepts of the bankruptcy “estate” and “property of the estate” and the importance thereof.
The Bankruptcy Protector
Not your Ordinary Bankruptcy Case
Columbia, South Carolina is hot during the summer, such that the City adopted the motto “Famously Hot” a few years ago. Temperatures frequently exceed 100 degrees in the summer. On June 12, 1987, the PTL Club filed chapter 11 cases in Columbia, adding heat to the already hot City.
The filing of a bankruptcy petition under any chapter of the Bankruptcy Code creates the ‘automatic stay,’ which prevents creditors from taking any further action against either the debtor or the debtor’s assets during the bankruptcy. Seasoned bankruptcy attorneys know that a violation of the automatic stay is a serious matter and, because of this, appropriately advise their clients on complying with, or enforcing, the stay. However, stay violations can inadvertently occur even when all reasonable and necessary precautions are taken.
This past year was marked by extraordinary deal activity. Record breaking M&A activity drove record breaking private credit activity. Private equity M&A activity was at a substantial high, with over 8,500 deals worth $2.1 trillion, a 60% increase over 2020. Not surprisingly, in this environment, defaults were at all-time lows. The Proskauer Private Credit Default tracker showed an active default rate of approximately 1% at the end of 2021, compared to 3.6% in 2020.
The Bankruptcy Protector
Procedure