J. Paul Getty once said, “Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.” However, with crude oil prices nearly half of what they were a mere six months ago, Getty’s formula may not hold as true as it once did. In the latest EIA STEO Report (April 2015), the DOE projects oil prices for WTI to remain around or below $60 per barrel for the balance of 2015 and grow to $70 per barrel in 2016.
Creditors of an entity or individual who is not paying its or his debts as they ordinarily come due may seek to have the alleged debtor adjudicated a bankrupt by the filing of an involuntary petition. Section 303 of the Bankruptcy Code governs the filing of involuntary bankruptcy petitions and allows creditors to force debtors into a liquidation or reorganization.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in In re Waco Town Square Partners, L.P., et al. considered whether it had the authority to order a non-debtor to dismiss a state court lawsuit.
“…to be my student, you must develop a taste for victory.”
Pai Mei, Kill Bill
When a debtor pays the market cost for goods and services provided to it by third-party vendors, these payments normally cannot be recovered as fraudulent transfers in the U.S. That is because the debtor receives reasonably equivalent value for the payments to its vendors and because the unsuspecting vendors can assert a good faith defense based on the value provided.
KRS Summary on Fraudulent Transfers
A fraudulent transfer (fraudulent conveyance) is an attempt to avoid debt by transferring money to another person or company. It is often an issue in debtor/creditor relations, particularly in bankruptcy when referring to insolvent debtors.
In post-confirmation proceedings, bankruptcy courts maintain the ability to clarify a plan where silent or ambiguous, and interpret a plan to advance equitable considerations. However, bankruptcy courts are not allowed to modify a plan outside the confines of section