Overview

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.

The bankruptcy code prohibits an employer from discriminating against or terminating an employee for filing or having filed for bankruptcy protection. A federal court in Wisconsin has extended this retaliation protection to an employee who intended to file for bankruptcy (and later did so). In Robinette v.

With the increase in corporate bankruptcy filings over the past year, there have been some interesting bankruptcy court decisions that affect those of us on the front end in corporate lending. One recent case took up the question of whether a second lien is truly second -- and whether it is safe to expect that the terms of your intercreditor agreement will be enforced.

In an intercreditor agreement, the senior lender will usually require that the junior lender waive several of its rights, including

The following is a list of some recent larger U.S. bankruptcy filings in various industries. To the extent you are a creditor to any of these debtors, or other entities which may have filed for bankruptcy protection, you as a creditor are entitled to certain protections under the Bankruptcy Code.  

TEXTILES  

Textile and paper-making component maker Xerium Technologies Inc. has sought bankruptcy protection.  

WASTE MANAGEMENT  

Almost five years after the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act, the Supreme Court recently ruled in Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A., et al v. United States that attorneys are “debt relief agencies” who are limited in their ability to provide pre-bankruptcy planning advice to consumers and obligating them to provide additional disclosures in their advertisements.

Attorneys Are Debt Relief Agencies Under BAPCPA

Introduction