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.  

AUTOMOTIVE  

American Consolidated Transportation Cos., Inc and its affiliated debtors file for Chapter 11 in the Northern District of Illinois.  

PHARMACEUTICALS

In the last several months, a number of major mass media companies have filed for chapter 11 relief, including Ion Media Networks, Sun-Times Media Group, Tribune Company, Young Broadcasting and NV Broadcasting. With the economy still struggling to recover, and asset values continuing to decline, commentators speculate that even more mass media related bankruptcies are on the horizon. Certain aspects of a mass media bankruptcy present unique challenges for the various stakeholders due to the special regulatory requirements involved.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed to amend its Bankruptcy Rules, 17 CFR Part 190, to establish cleared over-the-counter derivatives as a separate account class for the purpose of calculating “net equity” and “allowed net equity” for each customer in the event of the bankruptcy of a futures commission merchant.

Two US federal appeals courts recently held that a provision of the Bankruptcy Code can protect private company sellers in the event that the company they sold later goes bankrupt and a fraudulent transfer claim is brought against them to recover the sale proceeds. The courts found that this protection applies when a financial institution is used to handle the transfer of consideration in the sale.

On August 11, 2009, in one of the most significant rulings to date in the GGP bankruptcy proceeding, the Bankruptcy Court denied motions to dismiss as bad faith filings the bankruptcy cases of 20 GGP property-level subsidiaries. In denying the motions, the court stated that the fundamental creditor protections negotiated in the special purpose entity structures at the property level are in place and will remain in place during the pendency of the chapter 11 cases.

On July 2, 2009 the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order establishing September 22, 2009 as the deadline for filing proofs of claims against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. or any of its debtor affiliates (the “Order”). The Order provides that any holder of a claim against the Debtors who fails to file a proof of claim before the September 22, 2009 deadline will be forever barred from asserting such claim thereafter.

In a recently filed motion in the United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York (the “Motion”), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“LBHI”) is seeking to compel Metavante Corporation (“Metavante”) to perform its obligations under a swap agreement between Metavante and Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc.

Introduction

On August 11, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York denied five motions to dismiss certain Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases filed by debtors, including a number of issuers of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), that are owned by mall operator General Growth Properties, Inc. (GGP). The movants, including special servicers of the CMBS issued by GGP, based their dismissal motions primarily on a claim that the debtor’s cases were filed in bad faith.

Companies in severe financial distress often seek refuge in bankruptcy. However, while bankruptcy may offer the company-debtor protection against claims of unpaid wages, it does not insulate individual officers, directors and managers from personal liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") for such claims. InBoucher v.