A recent case out of the Southern District of New York, Citibank, NA, London Branch v. Norske Skogindustrier ASA(S.D.N.Y. March 8, 2016), once again illustrates the difficulty of obtaining injunctive relief against prospective indenture violations of a financially troubled issuer.
The Facts
A typical bond indenture provides that prior to the incurrence of an event of default, a trustee’s obligations are limited to those specifically set forth in the indenture. It is only following the occurrence of an event of default that the trustee’s duties of prudent conduct seem to ripen. This often leaves trustees and bondholders in a state of uncertainty over what actions, if any, a trustee may be obligated to take as the financial condition of an issuer worsens but has not yet crossed the default line. A recent case from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Becker v.
In most financing transactions, particularly project finance transactions, lenders seek to obtain security over all of a borrower’s assets. One crucial asset that sometimes does not get sufficient attention is insurance proceeds. Lenders are accustomed to ensuring access to the borrower’s insurance coverage through “additional insured” or “loss payee” provisions.
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT Wellness Int’l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, 135 S. Ct. 1932 (2015) Key Issue: Post-Stern v. Marshall, whether a Bankruptcy Court (as an Art. I court) has a proper delegation of authority from the District Court (as an Art. III court) to enter findings of fact and final orders on non-core issues upon the consent of the parties and, if so, whether consent must be express or may be implied? Holding: In a 5/1/3 opinion, relying heavily on Commodity Futures Trading Comm’n v. Schor, 478 U. S.
Imagine that you are an unsecured lender who has learned that a borrower has filed for bankruptcy and has little to no assets available to pay creditors. Is there any way to prevent your debt from being extinguished? This is a common question and often the answer unfortunately is no; however, if the debtor is an individual and the debt meets certain requirements established by the Bankruptcy Code, the court may declare the debt nondischargeable (in other words, the debt will remain with the debtor after the bankruptcy case is closed).
In Bankruptcy Code Section 363 sales of assets, there are winners and losers.
Chapter 11 is known as a forum for reorganizing or selling a financially distressed business. If a Chapter 11 reorganization is not possible, a sale of assets may create investment opportunities for strategic buyers, investment banks, and private equity to take advantage of the “distress” normally associated with Chapter 11 to acquire assets at a discount, exemplifying Warren Buffet’s “value” buying.
A common query with D&O insurance coverage is whether post-insolvency claims against the insolvent company’s directors and officers trigger the Insured vs. Insured exclusion found in most D&O policies. This issue arises when claims are brought on behalf of the insolvent company against directors in an attempt to recover money for creditors.
The Ninth Circuit BAP recently discussed on appeal the issue of whether a bankruptcy court may use the “fair and equitable” standard for confirmation in § 1129(b) to deny an oversecured creditor default interest on its claim to which it would otherwise be entitled under § 506(b). In Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Beltway One Development Group, LLC (In re Beltway One Development Group, LLC), 547 B.R. 819 (9th Cir.
CentsAbility: Creditors' Rights Law Update
In a recent case from the Business Court in Brunswick County, a North Carolina Judge held that Defendants could assert a claim for breach of the duty to negotiate in good faith finding that negotiations for a loan modification and renewal gave rise to a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the parties had entered into a “binding preliminary agreement.” RREF BB Acquisitions v. MAS Properties, LLC, No. 13 CVS 193, 2015 NCBC 58, 2015 WL 3646992 (N.C. Super. Ct. June 9, 2015).
Although our Blog focuses more on corporate restructuring issues than individual bankruptcies, the discharge of student loan debt is a topic that seems to be an exception to that rule (see The Eternal Pursuit to Collect: Due Process Rights and Actions to Collect on a Debtor’s Defaulted Student Loans,