In Lodge v. Kondaur Capital Corp., Case No. 13-10919 (decided May 8, 2014), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided an issue that it never previously addressed: whether a party could recover damages under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k) for emotional distress resulting from another party’s violation of the automatic stay in bankruptcy. In Lodge, the Court held that such damages were recoverable but could not be recovered in the particular circumstances of that case.
- Landlord/Tenant: lessor did not breach commercial lease by failing to complete construction by date certain where lease did not provide date by which property was to be ready for occupation – 326-330 St. Armands Circle, LLC v. GEE22, LLC, No. 2D12-2395 (Fla.
The ability to "surcharge" a secured creditor's collateral in bankruptcy is an important resource available to a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor in possession ("DIP"), particularly in cases where there is little or no equity in the estate to pay administrative costs, such as the fees and expenses of estate-retained professionals. However, as demonstrated by a ruling handed down by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the circumstances under which collateral may be surcharged are narrow. In In re Towne, Inc., 2013 BL 232068 (3d Cir. Aug.
Does a lender have a duty to act in good faith when negotiating with a borrower during a commercial loan modification? In an order issued recently by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, in In re: Burcam Capital II, LLC, the court denied a lender’s motion to dismiss a borrower’s claims against the lender. The Borrower alleged that the lender’s failure to modify the terms of the loan constituted a breach of the lender’s obligation to deal with the borrower in good faith, as well as an unfair or deceptive trade practice.&nbs
Since the financial crisis, sales under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code have provided an increasingly popular way for secured creditors of distressed businesses to recover their loans. However, despite the advantages of Section 363 sales, the significant expense and time required to conduct a Bankruptcy sale has caused secured creditors to pursue less comprehensive solutions. One alternative for recouping value from a troubled loan is an Article 9 foreclosure sale under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
A recent New York trial court decision upheld a common full recourse trigger in a non recourse carve-out guaranty by holding that a voluntary bankruptcy filing by the borrower enabled the lender to seek immediate full repayment from the guarantor under the terms of the guaranty, even though the loan was subject to New York State's "one action rule" and the lender had pursued a foreclosure action against the property securing the loan.
In re Investors Lending Group, LLC, 489 B.R. 307 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. 2013)
CASE SNAPSHOT
The secured lender was judicially estopped from objecting to the valuation of parcels of land that the debtor proposed to surrender to the secured creditor through its plan of reorganization because the debtor used the valuations provided by the secured lender’s appraiser.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Edgewater Growth Capital Partners LP v. H.I.G. Capital, Inc., 68 A.3d 197 (2013)
CASE SNAPSHOT
On October 17, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-21, which revises servicers’ responsibilities in finalizing standard deed-in-lieu of foreclosures (DILs).