On March 7, 2014 the Spanish Government approved the Royal Decree Law 4/2014 adopting urgent measures on business debt refinancing and restructuring ("Real Decreto-ley 4/2014, de 7 de marzo, por el que se adoptan medidas urgentes en material de refinanciación y reestructuración de deuda empresarial" or "RDL 4/2014"). The aim of this new regulation is the implementation of legal measures necessary to achieve the viable restructuring of debtors.

Spanish Secondary Regulation develops the Spanish Mediation Law dated July 6th 2012 (hereinafter the "Regulation") published in the Official Gazette last December 27th 2013. 

Mediators' training

I)     Introduction

Summertime is arguably the best time of the year. Warm weather. Long-awaited family vacations. Extended daylight. And unique to this summer, as of July 1, 2013, in most states, we have substantial amendments (the 2010 Amendments) to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to digest (maybe even under an umbrella on the beach). The 2010 Amendments are intended to clarify existing law, especially with respect to how certain types of debtors are named in financing statements. As of July 3, 2013, 44 states and the District of Columbia had enacted the 2010 Amendments.

Under French law, the divestiture of an unprofitable business can create specific legal risks resulting from the status of the sold business. International companies should anticipate a number of issues when selling a French loss-making subsidiary, including, but not limited to, issues surrounding the sale price, the risk of post-closing liabilities under bankruptcy proceedings and the risk of post-closing liabilities relating to employee claims.

Sale Price

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:

As highlighted by the 2008-2009 crisis, the insolvency of sub-suppliers raises important challenges. Automotive parts suppliers may need to find an alternative sub-supplier at short notice or may have to take over the production of certain parts themselves, which often requires a recovery of the tools that were provided to the sub-supplier. Both scenarios raise difficult legal issues.

In a recent landmark ruling, the UK Supreme Court deliberated on the question of whether an overseas defendant had to have submitted to the jurisdiction under common law before a foreign bankruptcy order would be recognised and enforced in England. Richard Keady and Jay Qin of Bird & Bird consider the practical implications of the decision and the significance it may have on practitioners going forward.

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.