Bankruptcy Rule 2019, an often ignored procedural rule in U.S. bankruptcies, has returned to the public eye with a vengeance in light of a recent ruling by the influential Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware¹ and controversial pending amendments to Rule 2019 proposed by the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States (the “Rules Committee”). The amendments will be the subject of a public hearing held in New York City on February 5, 2010.²

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s September 15, 2008 bankruptcy was an event of default under thousands of derivatives contracts to which a Lehman entity was a party and for which Lehman Brothers Holdings was the guarantor. This default entitled the vast majority of Lehman’s counterparties to terminate these contracts, and almost all were terminated.

As we count down the days until the New Year, we are reminded of the momentous year we will leave behind us on December 31. While memorable for many things, 2009 may long be remembered as a year of record corporate insolvency. In 2009, General Motors, CIT, Chrysler, and Thornburg Mortgage filed four of the ten largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history. Equally notable are the number of corporate filings made in 2009.

The Supreme Court declines to review a circuit court decision in Oneida Ltd., which held that a debtor cannot discharge in bankruptcy, as a prepetition claim, premiums it owes to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in connection with the termination of a pension plan.

Introduction

No. 09-6024 (8th Cir. BAP 11/30/09)

 No. 09-6063 (8th Cir. BAP 11/24/09)

Businesses considering filing Chapter 11 for bankruptcy protection may not necessarily be able to avoid certain environmental cleanup obligations. The underlying policy goals of bankruptcy and environmental laws are in direct conflict in that bankruptcy law seeks to promote financial rehabilitation by discharging a debtor's past obligations in order to promote financial rehabilitation while environmental law seeks to ensure that the government can order responsible parties to clean up contamination, including historical pollution caused by business predecessors.

The term “stalking horse” originally referred to a horse or type of screen a hunter used to conceal his position from intended prey. Today the term takes a new meaning altogether thanks to its application in the bankruptcy context. A modern day “stalking horse” is an interested buyer of a debtor’s assets who is offered incentives for being the first to announce its intent. As the initial bidder, the stalking horse sets the minimum purchase price and other terms of the transaction.

On January 11th, the Eighth Circuit held that a bankruptcy court properly awarded summary judgment to the bankruptcy trustee in a suit seeking to avoid as a preferential transfer, the pre-petition transfer of a mortgage from the debtor to the bank. Because the bank failed to record the home mortgage prior to the borrower's filing of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, Section 547(e)(2)(C) of the Bankruptcy Code deemed the transfer of the mortgage to have occurred immediately before the debtor filed his bankruptcy petition.

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.  

BROADCASTING  

Radio group Citadel Broadcasting Corp. has filed a prepackaged bankruptcy petition aimed to eliminate some $1.4 billion in debt.  

ENERGY