The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has affirmed a bankruptcy court's ruling that defense costs advanced by an insurer to a debtor under an Interim Fee Advancement and Non-Waiver Agreement (the Interim Agreement) were not held in trust and, therefore, constituted property of the debtor's estate. Great Am. Ins. Co. v. Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. (In re Bally Total Fitness of Greater N.Y.), No. 09-CV-4052, 2009 WL 1684022 (S.D.N.Y. June 15, 2009).

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, applying federal law, has reversed a bankruptcy court's ruling that the proceeds of an E&O liability policy were property of a bankruptcy estate. In re Burr Wolff, LP, 2007 WL 2964835 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 10, 2007). The court held instead that the issue was not ripe for adjudication because a declaratory judgment action concerning the insurer's obligations under the policy was pending, and thus "no proceeds" were currently available.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali recently ruled in the Chapter 11 case of Pacific Gas & Electric (“PG&E”) that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) has no jurisdiction to interfere with the ability of a bankrupt power utility company to reject power purchase agreements (“PPAs”).

Critics of last year’s decision on credit bidding by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the Philadelphia Newspapers chapter 11 case welcomed the Seventh Circuit’s recent unanimous opinion in River Road Hotel Partners LLC.

We’ve all heard it said a million times - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But does that age-old maxim apply to a bankrupt customer offering to pay you 100% of your unsecured claim through a “prepackaged” bankruptcy or under a critical vendor program? The answer can be complicated.

This article explores what it means to be “unimpaired” and paid in full in prepackaged bankruptcies and under critical vendor programs and outlines some of the potential pitfalls that can be faced by unsecured creditors under these scenarios.

RIVER ROAD HOTEL PARTNERS v. AMALGAMATED BANK (June 28, 2011)

The Supreme Court this week resolved a long-standing open issue regarding the treatment of trademark license rights in bankruptcy proceedings. The Court ruled in favor of Mission Products, a licensee under a trademark license agreement that had been rejected in the chapter 11 case of Tempnology, the debtor-licensor, determining that the rejection constituted a breach of the agreement but did not rescind it.

The Chapter 11 filing of the Los Angeles Dodgers is a desperate move by Frank McCourt to try to maintain his ownership of the team.  At least McCourt, whatever his shortcomings as a major league franchise owner, chose wisely in selecting bankruptcy lawyers.  Partners Bruce Bennett and

In Millenium Lab Holdings, Delaware District Court Judge Leonard Stark, on an appeal from a bankruptcy court order confirming a plan of reorganization, recently upheld a challenge to the bankruptcy court’s constitutional authority to release claims against non-debtor third parties under the plan.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has taken under advisement the latest case involving the now contentious issue of credit bidding.