Back in July of 2015, Curtis James Jackson, III, more commonly known as 50 Cent, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut, a little over two months after he was ranked fourth in the list of wealthiest hip-hop artists by Forbes. Jackson’s filing came on the heels of a New York state court ruling against him for $5 million in favor of Lastonia Leviston (plus $2 million in punitive damages that were later awarded post-petition) for impermissibly posting a sex tape online.
In LVNV Funding, LLC v. Harling, 852 F.3d 367 (4th Cir. 2017), as amended (Apr. 6, 2017), the Fourth Circuit addressed whether claim objections filed after a Chapter 13 plan had been confirmed are barred by the res judicata effect of the confirmed plan. Here, LVNV Funding filed unsecured proofs of claim that it conceded were barred by the statute of limitations.
An Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (“UCC”) often plays an active role in larger, more complex business bankruptcy cases. But what right, if any, does a UCC have to intervene in a bankruptcy adversary proceeding? The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed this very issue in Assured Guaranty Corp., et al. v. The Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico, et. al., 17-1831 (1st Cir. Sept. 22, 2017) (“Financial Oversight”) and ultimately held that a UCC does have such a right.
The Bankruptcy Protector
Chapter 11 debtors operate under various levels of uncertainty. Often a company is dependent upon others to provide financing or close transactions necessary for the company’s survival. Such was the case of Eclipse Aviation, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2008, with an (apparent) agreement to sell itself to its largest shareholder.
We are now past the second tranche of changes under the Insolvency Law Reform Act 2016 (Cth), comprised most importantly of Part 3 of the Insolvency Practice Schedule (IPS) (containing the General Rules relating to external administrations) which came into effect on 1 September 2017.
Part 3 of the IPS will apply to external administrations that start on or after 1 September 2017.
- On 18 September 2017 the Treasury Law Amendment (2017 Enterprise Incentives No. 2) Act 2017 (the Safe Harbour and Ipso Facto Act) became law.
- The Safe Harbour reforms introduced in the Safe Harbour and Ipso Facto Act create a safe harbour for company directors from personal liability for insolvent trading if the company is undertaking a restructure outside formal insolvency processes.
Division 65 and the New Strict Liability Regime