Going through bankruptcy is traumatic enough; doing so and still having your credit report still list your discharged debts as "delinquent" is enough to drive some people to litigation. And that's how several credit agencies found themselves on the receiving end of a series of Fair Credit Reporting Act class actions.

The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, equating a covenant not to sue under a patent with a license, has concluded that a trustee in bankruptcy cannot unilaterally reject the covenant as an executory contract.  In re Spansion, Case Nos. 11-3323, -3324 (3rd Cir., Dec. 21, 2012) (Scirica, J.).

Spansion and Apple settled a patent dispute at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding flash memory products, with Spansion agreeing to dismiss its case and to refrain from filing related actions.  In pertinent part, the agreement stated:

Tax-qualification requirements generally prohibit plan sponsors from eliminating optional methods of distribution under a retirement plan. This “anti-cutback” requirement is subject to only a limited number of exceptions. A recent modification to this rule adds a new exception for single-employer defined benefit plans maintained by employers in bankruptcy. Such employers may amend their plans to eliminate lump-sum distribution options if certain conditions are met.

The Anti-Cutback Rule

In a case originating out of bankruptcy court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s finding that a perpetual, royalty free, assignable, transferable, exclusive license granted as part of the sale of the business operations, assets and intellectual property associated with two bread baking brands was an executory contract.  Lewis Bros. Bakeries Inc. v. Interstate Brands Corp., Case No. 11-1850 (8th Cir., Aug. 30, 2012) (Bye, J.).

During an American Bar Association (ABA) program on antitrust and health care issues on October 1, 2012, U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Deputy Director for Health Care and Antitrust, Leemore Dafny, said that the FTC will focus on how patients purportedly react to price increases, as measured by "diversion ratios," when deciding which hospital mergers to investigate further for potential anticompetitive effects. 

Taxpayers that engaged in transactions under §381(a), including tax-free liquidations under §332 and certain tax-free reorganizations under §361, previously could not change their methods of accounting for the year of the transaction using the automatic consent procedures under Rev. Proc. 2011-14, 2011-1 C.B.

In the first decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court decision, concluding that a defendant’s bankruptcy filing does not prevent the district court from ruling on a contempt motion for violation of a temporary restraining order protecting plaintiff’s trademarks.  Dominic’s Restaurant of Dayton, Inc. v. Mantia, Case Nos. 10-3376; -3377 (6th Circuit July 5, 2012) (Batchelder, C.J.; McKeague, J.; Quist, D.J., sitting by designation).

Two significant changes were made to the Virginia recording tax statutes applicable to deeds of trusts during the 2012 session of the General Assembly. First, the exemption from recording taxes for deeds of trust whose purpose is to refinance an existing debt with the same lender was eliminated. Second, on deeds of trust securing debt in excess of the fair market value of the real estate, the recording tax now may be paid on the value of the property conveyed rather than the amount of the debt.

In a recent opinion, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a secured lender’s right to credit-bid at a bankruptcy sale of assets encumbered by such lender’s liens.  In addition to solidifying the rights and protections afforded to a secured creditor in bankruptcy, the Supreme Court lessened some of the uncertainty associated with the acquisition strategy by which a potential buyer purchases claims secured by the targeted assets of a troubled company and seeks to exercise such secured creditor’s rights as to such assets.

Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States held that a debtor cannot confirm a Chapter 11 “cramdown” plan that provides for the sale of collateral free and clear of a secured creditor’s lien when it denies the secured creditor’s right to credit bid at the auction.  This should be welcome news to members of the secured lending community because guaranteeing the right of secured creditors to credit bid will reduce the risk of making such loans.

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