In today’s economy, we continue to see bankruptcies occurring in the construction sector. An owner, contractor, or subcontractor in financial distress can easily delay a project — or worse, jeopardize the project in its entirety. Contractors need to understand their rights in order to minimize their exposure in bankruptcy-related situations.
Protecting Contractors — Frequently Asked Questions
Call it a sign of the times: the past decade has produced the ten largest bankruptcies in the United States.
Based on disclosed assets in its recent bankruptcy filing, MF Global has taken the spot just ahead of Chrysler as the eighth-largest United States bankruptcy (as ranked by New Generation Research on the basis of pre-petition assets).
The Top Ten list1 is presented below, with a brief commentary on the circumstances of bankruptcies, each of which has significantly impacted the United States and global economies.
Minnesota law requires that an employer must immediately notify all of its employees in writing if the employer files a petition for bankruptcy or if an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against the employer. SeeMinn. Stat.
The Sixth Circuit is one of only five federal appellate courts to institute a bankruptcy appellate panel under 28 U.S.C. § 158(b). (The others are the First, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth circuits.) As the bankruptcy appellate panel is unfamiliar to many non-bankruptcy attorneys, this post will review the Sixth Circuit’s bankruptcy appellate panel.
In a case of first impression that has important implications for parties who acquire intellectual property rights under international license agreements, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that the protections of Section 365(n) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code applied to licensees of U.S. patents in a Chapter 15 case, despite the fact that those protection were not available under the foreign law applicable to the foreign debtor. In re Qimonda AG, Case No. 09-14766 (Bankr. E.D. Va., Oct. 28, 2011) (Mitchell, Bankruptcy J.).
Earlier today AMR Corporation, its subsidiary American Airlines, Inc., and 18 other affiliates ("Debtors") filed petitions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.1 The case was assigned to Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane. The Debtors have asked the Court to consolidate all 20 cases for procedural purposes under the captionIn re: AMR Corporation, Case No. 11-15463.
Introduction
The CFTC has confirmed that its Division of Enforcement is investigating MF Global, Inc. for possible violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, or CEA and/or CFTC regulations. Scott D. O’Malia, a CFTC Commissioner, stated certain Dodd-Frank rules should be reexamined in light of the MF Global bankruptcy.
Heide v. Juve, (In re David L. Juve and Mona L. Juve), No. 11-6006, (8th Cir. BAP 09/16/2011) (Judges Schermer, Federman, and Nail).
Summary