After holding a hearing on the topic this past July, the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) released a report earlier this week entitled, “The Use of TARP Funds in Support and Reorganization of the Domestic Automotive Industry,” examining how TARP funds have been used to support and reorganize both

In a decision made on August 11, 2009, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York allowed solvent, special purpose entity subsidiaries of a bankrupt parent company, General Growth Properties, Inc., to maintain their Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, raising several important issues related to the use of special purpose entities structured to be "bankruptcy-remote."

GGP Business Model and 2009 Bankruptcy Filings

In today's difficult economic climate, a growing number of companies have been forced to consider or even file for bankruptcy. Such filings may result in a stay of legal claims against the company, including those brought by current or former employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). But according to the Ninth Circuit, a company's filing for bankruptcy does not protect its individual executives and managers from potential liability under the FLSA.

Earlier this year, Courts from the Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern District of New York to the United States Supreme Court issued a number of rulings approving the asset sales by Chrysler and General Motors. Although popular and industry media have been replete with stories regarding the facts of these cases, this article provides an in-depth analysis of the Courts’ rulings on several key issues of interest to debtors and creditors in future bankruptcies.

Summary of Key Rulings

Last month, in a significant ruling in the General Growth Properties, Inc. (“GGP”) bankruptcy case, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York denied motions to dismiss, as bad faith filings, the bankruptcy cases of 20 purported bankruptcyremote special purpose entity (“SPE”) subsidiary debtors.1

In a recent ruling from the bench, Judge James M. Peck of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held that Metavante Corporation’s suspension of payments under an outstanding swap agreement with Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc.

On September 17, 2009, the U.S.

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  

Holley Performance Products Holdings Inc., a supplier of parts for race cars, filed its second bankruptcy petition in less than two years Monday.  

CREDIT CARDS

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order on Sept. 17, 2009, granting a motion filed by Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. (“LBSF”) to compel Metavante Corporation (“Metavante”) to continue to make payments to LBSF under an ISDA Master Agreement.

The judge responsible for the Lehman bankruptcy proceedings in the United States has found that the provisions of the US bankruptcy code that exempt swap agreements and master netting agreements from the application of the Code's automatic stay and other relevant provisions do not permit a party to an ISDA Master Agreement to suspend performance under Section 2 (a) (iii) of the master agreement.