Court holds that distributions made pursuant to priority payment provisions contained in CDO transactions are protected by Section 560 of the Bankruptcy Code
Showtime and Top Rank Slug It out over "Fight of the Century"
Who said boxing was dead?
Fight fans still bitter over the May 2015 Floyd Mayweather–Manny Pacquiao bout that was far more mega-bore than mega-brawl may at long last get the slugfest they have been waiting for. A couple of small caveats: Mayweather has ceded the spotlight to his home television network, Pacquiao to his promotion company, and the boxing ring to a courtroom.
Judge John Koeltl in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently denied a motion to dismiss a securities class action arising, in part, from the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy filing.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has held that policy proceeds were not part of the insured entity’s bankruptcy estate because previous entity claims were dismissed with prejudice, it was highly speculative that the bankruptcy trustee would approve indemnification of directors and officers and the policy’s priority of payment provision provided that entity coverage was only available after payment of proceeds for direct coverage to insured persons. In re Downey Fin. Corp., 428 B.R. 595 (D. Del. Bankr. May 7, 2010).
The Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules recently issued a report to the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure on amendments and new rules that were published for comment the previous year. The Advisory Committee’s report recommends substantial revisions to the amendments that were initially proposed to Bankruptcy Rule 2019. The revisions are responsive to the numerous comments, suggestions and objections made by hedge funds, institutional investors and other distressed debt investors.
Background
The automatic stay is one of the most fundamental bankruptcy protections. It enjoins the initiation or continuance of any action by any creditor against the debtor or the debtor’s property, including causes of action possessed by the debtor at time of the bankruptcy filing. The automatic stay offers this protection while bringing all of the debtor’s assets and creditors into the same forum, the bankruptcy court.
SCHLEICHER v. WENDT (August 20, 2010)
Conseco was a large financial services company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and successfully reorganized. This securities-fraud claim was filed against Conseco managers who are alleged to have made false statements prior to the bankruptcy. Then-District Judge Hamilton (S.D. Ind.) certified a class. Defendants appeal.
On October 21, 2010, the Ninth Circuit overruled what many thought to be well-settled law, and held that a bankruptcy trustee does not have standing to pursue alter ego claims, at least in cases governed by California law. The court first held that California state law does not recognize a general alter-ego cause of action that allows an entity and its equity holders to be treated as alter egos for purposes of all of the entity’s debts.
While there has not been much good news for the mortgage banking industry coming out of bankruptcy courts in years, a recent opinion issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit provides not just good news, but very good news for mortgage lenders. The Fifth Circuit's opinion in Wilborn v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (In re Wilborn), 609 F.3d 748 (5th Cir.
On April 26, 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States adopted a completely revamped version of Rule 2019 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure to govern disclosure requirements for groups and committees that consist of or represent multiple creditors or equity security holders, as well as lawyers and other entities that represent multiple creditors or equity security holders, acting in concert to advance common interests in a chapter 9 or chapter 11 bankruptcy case.