To promote equal treatment of creditors, the US Congress has armed debtors with the power to bring suit to recover a variety of pre-bankruptcy transfers. Prominent among these is a debtor’s ability under Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code to recover constructively fraudulent transfers — i.e., transfers made without fair consideration when a debtor is insolvent.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey denied fourteen plans of reorganization filed by Congoleum Corporation before the court finally dismissed the case on February 27, 2009. While the Congoleum bankruptcy proceedings involve numerous issues, this article focuses generally on insurer standing and specifically, on whether Congoleum’s insurers had standing to object to Congoleum’s twelfth plan of reorganization.
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.
GAMING
The Majestic Star Casino LLC is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
RESEARCH
In the chapter 11 proceedings for ION Media Networks, a distressed fund (Cyrus) purchased second lien debt and then employed what the Court characterized as "aggressive bankruptcy litigation tactics as a means to gain negotiating leverage." In a November 24, 2009 Memorandum Decision, Judge James Peck of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York stopped Cyrus in its tracks, holding that the Intercreditor Agreement (ICA) between the first lien and second lien lenders would be enforced to deny Cyrus (i) the ability to assert that certain assets were outside of th
After more than a decade of rising real estate values, the tide has turned against commercial and development real estate, prompting major builders and developers to commence Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. As a result of the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) in 2005, many Chapter 11 cases that revolve around real estate will fall within the Bankruptcy Code’s definition of single asset real estate (SARE) cases and are thus subject to special provisions in the Bankruptcy Code.1 As a result, it is now time to think about SARE.
In an Opinion issued on December 2, 2009 in the Washington Mutual, Inc. ("WaMu") Chapter 11 case, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court held that Bankruptcy Rule 2019 clearly applies to "ad hoc committees," regardless of how they might try to disclaim collective action. As a result, the members of an informal group of WaMu bondholders must now provide detailed information concerning their holdings, including a history of when they bought and sold their bonds and the prices paid. Perhaps more importantly, the Opinion packs a second bombshell.
Last week, the Associated Press announced that the number of bankruptcy filings in federal courts this year have increased by more than one-third. Based on numbers from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the Associated Press reports that about 1.4 million bankruptcy cases were filed between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009. In comparison, 1 million cases were filed during this same period last year. While Chapters 7, 12 and 13 filings have all increased, of particular note, Chapter 11 filings increased by 68 percent.
For participants in the over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives markets, perhaps the most significant recent US legal decision interpreting counterparty rights upon a bankruptcy event of default was the September 15, 2009 bench ruling in the US Lehman Brothers chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, In re Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., Case No. 08-13555 et seq. (JMP)(jointly administered) ("Bankruptcy Case").
Publishing Company in Pleasantville, New York In re Reader’s Digest Sales and Services, Inc. (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.) Case no. 09-09548
To promote equal treatment of creditors, the US Congress has armed debtors with the power to bring suit to recover a variety of pre-bankruptcy transfers. Prominent among these is a debtor’s ability under Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code to recover constructively fraudulent transfers — i.e., transfers made without fair consideration when a debtor is insolvent.