Century Indemnity Company (“CIC”) reinsured The Home Insurance Company (“Home”). Due to Home’s liquidation proceedings, which began in 2003, CIC became fully liable for a $13 million settlement of certain environmental claims for which CIC and Home were both primarily liable under the parties’ respective insurance contracts. CIC, a debtor in the Home proceedings, sought a setoff of $8 million against other obligations owed to Home, for Home’s share of the settlement that CIC paid in full. The New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s order permitting the setoff.

Bankruptcy is a highly specialized legal practice area that can be difficult for the non-lawyer to navigate. Bankruptcy can also present many traps for the unwary. A bankruptcy or distressed financial situation will in most cases materially affect a company’s key relationships, customers, suppliers and business partners. All company decision makers need an understanding of how to react to protect their organization’s interests. Here are ten practical considerations to recognize in this distressed environment.

Introduction

On March 30, 2009, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Bailey,1 a case that addresses the jurisdiction of bankruptcy courts to authorize third-party releases in the context of a debtor’s plan of reorganization.

The current economic recession has, not surprisingly, led to a significant downturn in the domestic gaming industry. During 2008, revenue growth in the U.S. gaming industry turned negative for the first time in four years. Data for the first quarter of 2009 indicate that the monthly gaming revenues of casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City declined more than 15% as compared to the first quarter of last year.1 Public gaming company stock prices are down more than 80% on average, and many gaming companies have postponed or canceled development projects.

In Hutson v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.

In In re City of Vallejo,1 the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California held recently that the City of Vallejo has the authority to reject its collective bargaining agreements with the city’s firefighters and electrical workers as part of its chapter 9 bankruptcy proceeding without going through the process detailed in section 1113 of the Bankruptcy Code. The bankruptcy court determined that a municipality does not need to comply with the stringent requirements that corporations face when seeking to reject a collective bargaining agreement (a “CBA”).

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.  

AMUSEMENT PARKS

Theme park operator Six Flags files Chapter 11; seeks expedited approval of pre-pack plan.  

AUTOMOTIVE  

A Louisiana District court finds that the filing of an allegedly time barred proof of claim by a creditor does not amount to a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. B-Real, LLC v. Rogers et al., 2009 WL 1405844 (M.D.La. May 19, 2009) (Ruling on Appeal)

A Louisiana District Court ruling provides that a creditor did not violate the provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by filing what were alleged to be three time-barred proofs of claim based upon underlying debt allowed under Louisiana law.

On May 22, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (the “Credit CARD Act of 2009” or the “Act”), Public Law No: 111-24. The Act is intended to crackdown on certain credit card practices perceived as abusive – such as retroactive interest rate increases, "double cycle" billing and the offering of "fee harvester" cards. For credit counseling agencies and those that advertise and market debt management plan services to consumers, the Act is notable in three primary ways:

Only twice has the U.S. Supreme Court spoken directly to environmental issues in bankruptcy – until now. Today the Supreme Court ruled that certain claims can in fact be barred by a bankruptcy court's channeling injunction. The case is particularly important in light of the major corporate bankruptcies now under way in the industrial sector, where environmental costs can drive the success or failure of a restructuring.