On March 22, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a lower court decision which held that secured creditors do not have an absolute right to credit bid at an auction of assets conducted in connection with a bankruptcy reorganization plan. The court ruled that secured creditors are only entitled to the "indubitable equivalent" of their claims under a specific subsection of the Bankruptcy Code. The "indubitable equivalent" could be the cash value of the assets upon which the creditor holds liens as determined through an auction process.

Equipment maker, Xerium Technologies, filed chapter 11 petitions for bankruptcy on March 30th in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

A Mississippi Bankruptcy Court recently addressed several employer defenses to liability under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN Act”), which is noteworthy in the context of the current economy. In re FF Acquisition Corp. d/b/a Flexible Flyer, 423 B.R. 502 (Bankr. N.D. Miss. January 20, 2010).

On February 3, 2010, the California Supreme Court denied review of a significant decision by the California Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, that limits a breach of fiduciary duty action brought by creditors against directors of an insolvent corporation under California law. Berg & Berg Enterprises, LLC v. Boyle, et al., 178 Cal. App. 4th 1020 (2009). California has now joined Delaware in holding that directors do not owe creditors a fiduciary duty, even when the corporation is operating in the so-called “zone of insolvency.”

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has amended its bankruptcy rules (17 C.F.R. Part 190) to create a new “account class” for cleared over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives for purposes of calculating customer “net equity” and “allowed net equity” in the event of the bankruptcy of a futures commission merchant.

A hotel property derives much of its value from its operator and brand. When a hotel owner is in distress with respect to its loan obligations, the operator also plays a critical role in the resolution of the workout process between the owner and the lender. The rights and obligations of the operator contained in its agreements with the owner and the lender affect any workout decision that the parties may make.

One's Crisis is Another's Opportunity: Section 363 Sales With the increasing numbers of companies which were once thought to be giants of industry filing for bankruptcy, more opportunities to purchase major assets are becoming available to savvy buyers looking to expand their business or asset base. The Bankruptcy Code provides debtors with the ability to liquidate all or a part of their assets through court-supervised sales and buyers with the ability to obtain those assets at more favorable prices than they would pay if the sale were consummated outside of a bankruptcy.

It has been reported that “medical bankruptcies” have been on the rise since 2001. There is no clear-cut definition for “medical bankruptcy,” but it has been summarily defined by the following terms:

Overview

Introduction