PETER J. SOLOMON COMPANY, L.P., v. ONEIDA, LTD., CASE NO. 09-CIV-2229, 2010 WL 234827 (S.D.N.Y. JAN. 22, 2010)
On January 28th, the Ninth Circuit addressed the issue of whether a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee had actual notice of an unrecorded refinanced mortgage when the bankruptcy petition was electronically filed simultaneously with schedules listing the mortgage as a secured debt. The Court held that the trustee lacked actual notice. The Court found that the filing of the petition was a separate event from the filing of the schedules. The trustee was therefore a bona fide purchaser for value without notice and under state bona fide purchaser law, the trustee could avoid the unrecorded mortgage.
On January 22nd, Affiliated Media, Inc. (the "Debtor" or "Affiliated"), filed a chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. According to documents filed with the Bankruptcy Court, the Debtor's operations include daily and weekly newspapers, "niche publications," internet websites, four radio stations and a television station in Alaska. Affiliated's bankruptcy follows a drop in revenue from $1.3 billion in 2007 to $1.06 billion in 2009.
As the economy boomed in 2005-2007 and leverage increased to staggering levels, LBOs took a prominent place in the deal economy. During that time, investors completed 313 LBOs in the United States for approximately $630 billion.1 Following the recent economic downturn, many of those LBOs have become sources of controversy in a number of bankruptcies and restructurings - prominent examples include Tribune Co. and Lyondell Chemical Co.
In a majority opinion dated December 15, 2009, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel held that a chapter 11 debtor may not equitably subordinate a creditor's claim and transfer the lien securing that claim, when such creditor is, itself, in bankruptcy, before first obtaining relief from the automatic stay under section 362 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in such creditor's bankruptcy case. Lehman Commercial Paper v. Palmdale Hills Prop. (In re Palmdale Hills Prop., LLC), 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 4294 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. Dec. 15, 2009).
Anyone who obtains title insurance, whether as an owner or a lender, should be aware of a recent abrupt and significant change in title insurance practices across the country. Title companies have recently stated that they will no longer delete creditors’ rights exclusions from, or add affirmative creditors’ rights coverage as an endorsement to, any of their issued title policies.
Overcoming months of delay, regional local exchange carrier Fairpoint Communications filed a reorganization plan with a New York bankruptcy court that would reduce the carrier’s debt load by two-thirds and give secured creditors an ownership stake of 92% in the post-bankruptcy entity. At the same time, Fairpoint reached settlements with the states of New Hampshire and Vermont that address commitments to service quality and to the provision of broadband services in those states.
Over the next two years, billions of dollars in commercial real estate loans are expected to mature — loans that many property owners and landlords will not be able to pay off or refinance. As a result, a number of landlords that have purchased, built, renovated and/or refinanced their properties with short-term debt during the previous five years will find themselves in a precarious position. Market forces, combined with the tightening of credit markets, leave landlords holding over-leveraged property, unable to refinance their shortterm debt because of a lack of equity.
Beneficiaries of a Ponzi scheme who were subsequently found liable to cheated investors under state securities laws could not discharge this liability under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ruled.
A recent decision by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York regarding the terms of an engagement letter demonstrates the need to clearly articulate the intended purpose and scope of an engagement. As the case described below demonstrates, if there is any ambiguity with regard to whether or not a fee must be paid and/or when an engagement is terminated, the resolution of such ambiguity may depend upon the description of the engagement’s purpose.