As witnessed repeatedly from countless national news sources, bankruptcy bulletins and scholarly articles, bankruptcies within the retail and restaurant industries have been booming. Within Fredrikson & Byron’s national practice alone, landlord and lessor clients found themselves wrapped up in many of these national bankruptcy cases, including those for CEC Entertainment, Inc. (better known as Chuck E. Cheese), Pier 1 Imports, Inc., and Vitamin OldCo Holdings, Inc., (f/k/a GNC Holdings, Inc.), amongst many others.
Introduction
Congress recently sent two different bills to the President’s desk that are designed to provide an easier path for family farming operations and small businesses to reorganize under the Bankruptcy Code: the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 and the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019.
The legalization of marijuana and the Bankruptcy Code continue to proceed on a crash course. A majority of states have legalized marijuana for medical use, and a growing number have legalized recreational use as well. As a result, the industry is rapidly expanding – national sales in legal markets have increased 34 percent in 2018 to $10.8 billion.
Receiverships and assignments for the benefit of creditors (ABCs) can be important tools for banks and other lenders when a borrower is suffering financial distress. Because they are often cost-effective and efficient, receiverships are being used increasingly throughout the country, and ABCs are commonly utilized in many states. In Minnesota, however, the statutes regarding receiverships and ABCs were outdated or largely ignored; as a result, receivership practices and procedures are not uniform, and ABCs are almost never used.