What you need to know

The High Court has decided not to hear an appeal about the ability of the Linc Energy Limited (Linc Energy) liquidators to disclaim property of the company - this means the liquidators could disclaim that property, including any obligations under the specific environmental protection order (EPO) issued under Queensland's environmental legislation. The current position stands that the disclaimer notice had the effect of avoiding obligations of both the company and its liquidators under the EPO.

As we mentioned in a previous post, the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a wave of bankruptcies that we expect to continue into 2021. Companies entering 2020 in a strong financial position may now need to quickly shed distressed assets and generate cash. A Chapter 11 reorganization is likely to be too long and burdensome for companies in this position.

On May 6, 2020, in the case of In re Peabody Energy Corporation, 958 F.3d 717 (8th Cir.), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held, in an apparent case of first impression, that state statutory and common-law climate change tort claims are dischargeable in bankruptcy and were in fact discharged in this case, affirming the decisions of the lower courts.¹

It has long been the law that termination of contracts is permissible under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) with the effect of the termination being to create an unsecured claim for damages in place of the contract. What has not been permitted is allowing insolvent companies to pick and choose parts of an agreement to terminate. Following a recent decision arising out of receivership proceedings in the Yukon, it may now in some circumstances be possible to terminate parts of an agreement.

The uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has rocked the global economy, and companies of all types and sizes are feeling the impacts. In recent weeks, certain high-profile retailers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Some airlines are expected to enter bankruptcy as well, and even farmers are feeling the pinch. Overall, data suggest that bankruptcies will increase almost 25 percent from last year.

Originally published Dec. 9, 2020, on Law360.

With the COVID-19 pandemic depriving bankruptcy practitioners of our usual opportunities to meet in court and at conferences to discuss recent developments in the law, I spent time tracking developments in bankruptcy law within the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

In ordinary times, a supplier of goods looks to customer-specific underwriting considerations to weigh the benefit of extending credit to a new or existing customer against the risk that the customer will fail to pay for the goods or services supplied. These are not ordina

It’s often hard to tell whether the conflict between environmental cleanup laws and bankruptcy statutes is a bug or a feature. The two seem irreconcilable when the intent of environmental laws to protect public health and safety by imposing cleanup costs on the polluter runs headlong into the Bankruptcy Code’s design to give a debtor a fresh start. Frequently, the latter prevails.

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