In today's low interest rate environment, the difference between a contractual interest rate and the federal judgment rate can be quite significant. It is not surprising, therefore, that this issue has become hotly litigated in cases involving solvent Chapter 11 debtors. Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in Colfin Bulls Funding A v. Paloian (In re Dvorkin Holdings), 547 B.R. 880 (N.D. Ill.
Governor Corbett is almost certain to sign legislation that places a Receiver in charge of Harrisburg‟s finances after the House agreed to Senate changes and sent the bill to the Governor‟s desk.
The General Assembly acted despite a recent move by Harrisburg City Council to file for bankruptcy. The architects of the Harrisburg „Receiver‟ plan, State Rep. Glen Grell, R-Cumberland and State Senator Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin, both maintain that the bankruptcy move was illegal.
A measure that places a Receiver in charge of Harrisburg’s finances is expected to be approved by the Senate on October 17, despite the recent move by City Council to file for bankruptcy.
“From our point of view nothing has changed,” said State Rep. Glen Grell, R-Cumberland, who worked on the Receiver legislation with State Senator Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin. “The bankruptcy move is specifically forbidden under legislation we passed in June. I don’t think there’s any doubt it will be challenged and pretty quickly dismissed.”
The case of Hull v Campbell serves as a reminder of an outmoded debt recovery procedure that needs to be modernised.
Parent company guarantees and performance bonds are typically used in the construction and engineering industries to provide a developer with some security in the event that the contractor breaches the building or engineering contract or, in some circumstances, upon the contractor's insolvency.
In the current economic climate, contractor default is, unfortunately, even more prevalent in the construction and engineering industries, and so the issues surrounding parent company guarantees and performance bonds are very much in focus for developers.