On Friday, May 15, 2015, Golden County Foods, Inc. (“GCF”), a business that manufactures prepared foods, filed a voluntary chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. It was joined by two affiliates, GCF Franchisee, Inc. (“GCFF”)and GCF Holdings II, Inc. (“Holdings”). The cases are docketed as case no. 15-11062 and have been assigned to The Honorable Kevin Gross.
More Clarity for Delaware Directors When Considering Restructuring Transactions
SUMMARY
In Quadrant Structured Products Co., Ltd. v. Vertin (May 4, 2015) (“Quadrant”), the Delaware Court of Chancery confirms – again – that ordinary corporate fiduciary duties govern the conduct of directors of an insolvent corporation, rather than a special duty to creditors. The Court also clarifies the circumstances in which creditors may have derivative standing to enforce those fiduciary duties on behalf of an insolvent corporation.
While section 503(b)(9) claims deserve priority payment over general unsecured claims, they do not provide a basis for stripping a debtor’s defenses in determining the allowed amount of a section 503(b)(9) claim.
Note: Pepper Hamilton LLP serves as co-counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the Committee) in the ADI case. The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and not of the Committee.
A just-issued Court of Chancery decision clarifies, and possibly expands, creditors' rights. In 2007, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a corporation's creditors may sue its board of directors for violating its fiduciary duties, but only after the corporation became insolvent, in North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation v. Gheewalla, 930 A.2d 92 (Del. 2007). While creditors continued to be unable to sue directly, Gheewalla did permit them to file derivative suits in those circumstances.
In Quadrant Structured Products Co. v. Vertin, 2015 WL 2062115 (Del. Ch. May 4, 2015), the Delaware Court of Chancery (Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster) announced a bright-line standard governing the threshold inquiry of when a creditor can maintain a derivative suit against directors for breach of fiduciary duty. The court held that a creditor need only establish that the company was balance sheet insolvent at the time the suit was filed and that the creditor’s standing will not be extinguished if the company rides back into solvency during the litigation.
Restructuring professionals cite giving the debtor a “fresh start” as one of the goals of bankruptcy. In order to assist the debtor, the Bankruptcy Code contains a number of provisions capping claims. One of these provisions is
In an opinion issued on May 4, 2015, Quadrant Structured Products Co., Ltd. v. Vertin, the Court of Chancery provided important guidance to distressed Delaware corporations and their creditors.
The unitranche financing market has expanded significantly in recent years. Generally, a unitranche deal involves two lenders (or groups of lenders) that provide financing on a “first out” and “last out” basis. In conjunction with the financing, the borrower grants one lien and enters into a single credit agreement and the lenders enter into an “Agreement Among Lenders” (“AAL”). An AAL is similar to an intercreditor agreement and provides for certain rights and remedies of the lenders.
On May 4, 2015, one of the largest for-profit post-secondary education companies in the United States and Canada, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., and 24 of its affiliates, filed voluntary chapter 11 petitions in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The cases are docketed as case no. 15-10952 and have been assigned to the Honorable Kevin J. Carey. The petition lists assets of approximately $19.2 million and liabilities of $143.1 million.
The Court of Chancery issues a liberal ruling on creditor derivative standing and more obsequies for the “zone of insolvency.”