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On September 22, 2017, the First Circuit issued a decision[1] holding that the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the “UCC”) appointed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s Title III debt adjustment case[2] (the “Title III Case”) has an unrestricted right to i

The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware recently issued a decision that will undoubtedly influence strategies in bankruptcy cases involving plugging and abandonment liabilities. The court’s ruling in Venoco, LLC v. City of Beverly Hills illuminates the Bankruptcy Code’s rehabilitative purposes by explaining that financial harm, without more, is not sufficient to enjoin a debtor’s actions.

What Happened

Unlike the parenting technique that requires a misbehaving child to sit in a designated area for a set amount of time, Gymboree Corporation, the well-known San Francisco-based company that operates specialty retail stores of children’s apparel, will serve its time-out before Judge Keith L. Phillips in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware recently held in the bankruptcy proceedings of Nortel Networks Inc., et al. (“Nortel”), Case No. 09-10138 (KG), that it would not second guess the work of an indenture trustee and its counsel on matters related to the trustee (i) in its capacity as indenture trustee on behalf of noteholders; (ii) in its capacity as a member of a creditors’ committee; and (iii) in defending its fees.

On appeal from a decision in the In re Energy Future Holdings Corp. bankruptcy case, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently held that contractual make-whole premium provisions are enforceable where the obligation to repay bond debt is accelerated by a bankruptcy filing.

In 2009, General Motors (“Old GM”) commenced a chapter 11 case and sold the bulk of its business and assets to a new entity (“New GM”) “free and clear” of liabilities against New GM. Notwithstanding the “free and clear” language of the 2009 sale order (the “Sale Order”), a Second Circuit panel recently held that plaintiffs could assert claims against New GM over faulty ignition switches in cars manufactured by Old GM and recalled in early 2014.

This article was initially published in The Bond Buyer and is part of a larger piece that will be published in April in the Journal of Bankruptcy.

recent court ruling is a good reminder to health care providers that bankruptcy may not (as is sometimes suggested) be a safe harbor for providers in danger of being forced out of business by the loss of their Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements.