On Friday, October 26, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in what could be a landmark decision concerning trademark issues in bankruptcy. In Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology LLC, the Court will resolve a Circuit Court split and determine whether a debtor-licensor can strip away the rights of its trademark licensees by rejecting its trademark licensing agreements as part of its bankruptcy case.
A recent federal bankruptcy court decision addresses important principles of fiduciary conduct (and the benefits of a state exculpatory statute) in the context of a financially distressed not-for-profit hospital.
New Decision Affects D&O Liability
A recent federal bankruptcy court decision addresses important principles of fiduciary conduct (and the benefits of a state exculpatory statute) in the context of a financially distressed not-for-profit hospital.
Courts are often faced with the situation in which affiliated debtors file for Chapter 11 reorganization and request to have their cases jointly administered. While joint administration does not, without more, cause substantive consolidation of the assets and liabilities of the corporate group, jointly-administered debtors may propose a single plan of reorganization that establishes the recovery for all of the debtors’ creditors.
Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, Case No. 16-9016 (1st Cir., Jan. 12, 2018) (Kayatta, J) (Torruella, J, concurring in part, dissenting in part).
ISSUE 3 2017 FOCUS ON Brexit & the US Administration IN International News The Best Option for Dispute Resolution Brexit and the Free Flow of Data What to Expect from Trump’s FTC and DOJ in Terms of Merger Policy 2 International News EDITOR Andrea Hamilton Partner Brussels +32 2 282 35 15 [email protected] PUBLICATION EDITORS Aileen Devlin Kate Hinze CREATIVE SERVICES Jane Hanlon Cali Stefanos TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Cross Border M&A: The Impact of Brexit, the Trump Ad
Addressing a circuit split over a trademark licensee’s rights following a debtor/licensor’s bankruptcy, the US Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) for the First Circuit held that, although trademarks and trade names are not included in bankruptcy law’s definition of “intellectual property,” the licensee’s rights to use the licensor’s trademarks as set forth in the agreement were not terminated by the debtor’s rejection of the agreement. Mission Prod. Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology LLC, Case No. 15-065 (BAP, 1st Cir., 2016) (Hoffman, J).
The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (“BAP”) for the First Circuit recently upheld a licensee’s rights to use a debtor’s trademarks and logo after a rejection by the debtor of the underlying licensing and distribution agreement. Mission Product Holdings, Inc., v. Tempnology LLC (In re Tempnology LLC) 2016 WL 6832837 (Bankr. 1st Cir. 11/18/16).
“Top hat plans” have many attractive features, but a new court decision is a reminder that top hat plan participants have limited protections under ERISA – and that assets held in a rabbi trust are not protected from the claims of creditors upon the employer’s bankruptcy or insolvency.
December 2 marks the 15th anniversary of the Enron bankruptcy—a near cataclysmic event that ultimately led to a series of significant legislative, regulatory and public policy developments that inform governance practices to this day. The entire board would be well served by a brief overview of the governance impact of Enron, particularly since many directors were not in board service 15 years ago.