On December 31, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision regarding the permissibility of the Serta Simmons Bedding (Serta) uptier liability management exercise (the 2020 Uptier) and related issues arising from the confirmation of Serta’s chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

As we enter 2025, we look back on five important decisions that made the news in 2024. Here is the the first case.

Paul, Weiss Named Chapter 11 Firm of the Year in Global Restructuring Review Awards

Global Restructuring Review (GRR) recognized Paul, Weiss as the “Chapter 11 Firm of the Year” in its 2024 GRR Awards, which honor the most impressive restructuring practices and individuals of the past year. The firm was recognized for its role advising in several major chapter 11 matters, including the restructurings of Hornblower, Lumileds, Revlon and Rite Aid, among others

Brian Hermann Discusses Chapter 11 Trends at Bankruptcy Conference

1 EXPLORING THE ROLE OF SECTORAL REGULATORS VIS-À-VIS IBC The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC” / “Code”) has emerged as the poster child of an ideal model law empowering the restructuring and resolution of financially distressed firms in a fair, timely and balanced manner by maximising recoveries to the debtors claimants.1 The corporate insolvency resolution process (“CIRP”) under the Code essentially functions in a manner as per which a resolution plan is proposed for all stakeholders of the debtor, ideally within an outer timeline of 330 days.2 The creditors and stakeholders ar

Recent trends in distressed real estate investment reveal significant opportunities for savvy investors, particularly in the commercial real estate sector. As economic uncertainties persist, distressed assets (properties facing foreclosure or significant depreciation) are increasingly appealing because of their potential for high returns when acquired at discounted prices.

Legal Frameworks

Restructuring Plans (RPs)

2024 was a year of firsts for RPs, and as case law in this area continues to evolve, there is little doubt that this will carry through into 2025.

It would be remiss not to expect to see more RPs in 2025. News of Thames Water's restructuring is "splashed" all over the press and Speciality Steel's plan might see the first "cram up" of creditors, but there seems a long way to go to get creditors onside.

Recording an assignment or other transactions, such as mergers, before the UAE Trade Mark Office (‘TMO’) shall involve specific legal requirements and formalities, including submitting a legalised Deed of Assignment (‘DOA’) signed by both the assignor and assignee and/or a merger certificate. However, many trade mark owners faced some complications in presenting such documents which could arise from companies restructuring, insolvency and/or voluntarily winding up of legal entities.

On 23 October 2024, Deputy High Court Judge Le Pichon of the Court of First Instance in the High Court of the Hong Kong SAR granted recognition and assistance to Chan Ho Yin (also known as Michael Chan) (“Mr Chan“) of Kroll (HK) Ltd and Elaine Hanrahan (“Ms Hanrahan“), the joint official liquidators of Bull’s-Eye Limited (“Bull’s-Eye”) following a letter of request issued by the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

Introduction & Key Takeaways

The year 2024 ended with some major legal fireworks, as two important courts issued contrasting New Year’s Eve decisions on the validity of “uptier” liability management transactions that have played a large role in corporate debt restructurings for the past several years.

On December 31, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its long awaited opinion in the disputes arising from the controversial “uptier” transaction executed by Serta Simmons Bedding, L.L.C. (“Serta”) in 2020 and the confirmation of Serta’s chapter 11 plan by the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court in 2023. The Fifth Circuit reversed former Bankruptcy Judge David Jones’ summary judgment ruling that the 2020 uptier transaction was permissible under Serta’s existing credit agreements.