In the approach to bankruptcy, struggling businesses may experience problems performing their contracts, and counterparties often see trouble on the horizon. What can a non-debtor counterparty do to protect itself? And how are its rights impaired when the debtor finally commences a bankruptcy case?

The case of Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison (In re Bellingham Ins. Agency), No. 12- 1200, was easily one of the most closely watched bankruptcy cases in many years. Last week’s decision in that case, however, was far less dramatic than  some practitioners feared it might be. The Supreme Court answered two important questions regarding the power of bankruptcy courts that it left open three years ago in Stern v. Marshall.

In Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison, Chapter 7 Trustee of Estate of Bellingham Insurance Agency, Inc., — U.S. — (June 9, 2014) (Bellingham), the Supreme Court shed light on how bankruptcy judges must proceed when confronted with claims that they cannot finally adjudicate as non-Article III judges.  

The health of the healthcare industry can be summarized as follows: as go federal reimbursement rates, so goes the financial viability of healthcare providers, whether hospitals, nursing homes or medical practices.

The First Circuit held in a recent decision that bankruptcy courts have wide discretion to apply a flexible approach when valuing (and potentially re-valuing) collateral for purposes of determining whether a secured creditor is oversecured and therefore entitled to receive postpetition interest pursuant to section 506(b) of the Bankruptcy Code.   

Readers may recall that, according to at least one bankruptcy court, chapter 9 debtors are not required to obtain bankruptcy court approval of compromises and settlements.

The recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by James River Coal was the latest reminder that mining companies continue to face unique and myriad challenges. Several factors, including the depressed global economy, tougher environmental rules and enforcement, funding and liquidity challenges, and market volatility, are causing industry-wide stress, particularly for coal companies. Trade press and pundits suggest that more mining company bankruptcies may be on the horizon.

One deliberately ironic facet of the 2004 film Howard Hughes bio-pic The Aviator (the one with Leonardo DiCaprio) is the fact that the airlines fighting for world dominance in the 1940s were Howard Hughes’ TWA and Juan Trippe’s Pan Am.  By the time of the movie, of course, both famous airlines were gone.  Pan Am’s final descent into bankruptcy court ended in 1991.  Following its own troubles (and two bankruptcies in the 1990s), TWA was acquired by American Airlines in 2001.  But does the death of an airline mean an end to litigation?  Of course not.

What do you get when you combine a 20+ year old bankruptcy, a contaminated landfill, and a state regulatory agency that moves at a glacial pace? The answer: In re Solitron Devices, Inc., a recent decision from the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Energy Future Holdings Corp. filed a prepackaged ("pre-pack") chapter 11 in April 2014 seeking a complete restructuring and quick-exit from bankruptcy, aiming to be in and out of bankruptcy in under 11 months. In May 2014, the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware confirmed the prepackaged disclosure statement and reorganization plan of Quiznos, and on May 23, 2014, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved a $570 million loan in the Momentive Performance Materials prepack bankruptcy.