On October 29, 2009, the California Court of Appeal, Sixth District, in Berg & Berg Enterprises, LLC v. Boyle, et al., unequivocally ruled that, under California law, directors of either an insolvent corporation or a corporation in the more elusively defined “zone of insolvency” do not owe a fiduciary duty of care or loyalty to creditors. In so ruling, California joins Delaware in clarifying directors’ duties when the corporation is insolvent or in the zone of insolvency.

Background

Kemper has been on the brink of insolvency for years. It may have finally reached the end of its runway. Last week, Kemper disclosed its most recent financials, which show that very little cash is left in its two major member companies, raising the specter that it may finally be placed into a liquidation proceeding. Policyholders should be aware of the ramifications of a Kemper liquidation and take steps, if possible, to mitigate the impact a Kemper liquidation could have on their businesses.

A bankrupt holding company has reportedly agreed to pay $8.7 million to settle nuisance claims brought by a number of California cities and counties alleging public health problems caused by lead paint in homes and buildings. The funds will apparently be used to remediate lead paint-related health issues. Other defendants include lead paint manufacturers and distributors; trial against them is expected in 2012. California prosecutors are seeking an order requiring the cleanup of lead-contaminated buildings and a monetary contribution for public health efforts. See Law360, June 24, 2011.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California has granted motions by eight directors and officers liability insurers to withdraw the reference to the bankruptcy court of two coverage actions involving coverage for claims against former directors and officers of a bank holding company.  In re IndyMac Bancorp, Inc., Nos. CV11-02600; CV11-02605; CV11-02950; CV11-02988 (C.D. Cal. May 17, 2011).  Wiley Rein LLP represents an excess insurer and the primary Side A insurer in the litigation.

From the West Coast Healthcare Desk is a new ongoing series of Holland & Knight Healthcare Blog articles and alerts focused on healthcare industry developments and points of interest in the West Coast healthcare marketplace. Holland & Knight's nationally ranked healthcare practice has been focused on healthcare compliance, transactional, reimbursement and operational trends that have often started in California before spreading nationwide – managed care and various capitated and quality-based reimbursement models being the most obvious examples.

In In re Golden Sphinx Ltd., 2023 WL 2823391 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2023), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California denied a motion filed by a creditor of a chapter 15 debtor seeking discovery from a bank that had provided financing to one of the debtor's affiliates.

Bankruptcy Judge Chris Klein recently issued his formal confirmation opinion in Stockton’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy case. While there were no real surprises, the opinion makes for entertaining reading given the Court’s more than serious conclusion that:

Imagine: you are a lender that has loaned substantial sums of money to an individual, secured by real property owned by the borrower. After the borrower defaults and negotiations fail, you seek and obtain the appointment of a receiver. But now litigation ensues—about the loan documents, about contract defaults, about interest rates, about foreign law. After a substantial investment of time and money, your trial date draws closer. At some point during this odyssey, your borrower secretly transfers the real property collateral to a newly-created, single-member LLC.

The automatic stay is a powerful tool of the Bankruptcy Code, affording debtors a breathing spell from creditors seeking payment. Section 362(k)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code reinforces the stay by allowing individual debtors to recover actual and punitive damages for willful violations.

What does Memorial Day weekend mean to you?  Perhaps it means having a nice long weekend with family and friends?  Or spending hours sitting in traffic with all the people who are getting away from it all for the weekend?  Or maybe you are a traditionalist and will spend the weekend getting all of your white clothes out of Manhattan Mini Storage.  Well, for the Weil Bankruptcy Blog, the start of Memorial Day weekend means one thing — the return of Bankruptcy Beach Reading.