In Chapter 11 reorganization cases, a debtor and a creditor generally seek to negotiate a mutually agreeable plan of reorganization. However, in many instances, the debtor will propose a plan which impairs the interest of a secured creditor and results in the secured creditor’s objection of the plan’s proposed treatment. In
On June 23rd, the First Circuit addressed the priority of claims asserted by senior noteholders and junior noteholders of debt issued by an insolvent bank. It affirmed the bankruptcy court's finding that the parties did not intend for the senior noteholders to receive post-petition interest payments prior to the junior noteholders receiving a distribution. In re: Bank of New England Corporation, Debtor.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a proposed “gifting” plan distributing value from the second lien lenders to the prepetition equity holder violated the absolute priority rule and was confirmed in error.2 This decision, by a 2-1 panel vote,3 reversed the decisions of the Bankruptcy and District Courts for the Southern District of New York. The Second Circuit also affirmed unanimously the designation of the vote of an indirect competitor of the debtor that held no claims prior to the petition date.
Debtors filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7. The Debtors own and have title to real property ("Property"). Prior to the Petition Date, the husband borrowed $85,000 from Lender. This loan was reflected by a promissory note signed only by the husband, as "Borrower." The term "Note" is defined in the Mortgage as the promissory note signed by Borrower. On the same date, a mortgage granting Lender a mortgage on the Property was executed.
We admit, discovery disputes rarely make for titillating blog posts. But a letter ruling issued towards the end of last year by Judge Shannon in Longview Power, LLC et al. v. First American Title Insurance Co. recently caught our eye.
In the aftermath of recent municipal bankruptcies in which issuers proposed and/or implemented bankruptcy plans involving partial discharges of the issuer’s payment obligation on insured bonds, there has been increased focus on whether municipal bond interest paid by a bond insurer after the bankruptcy plan’s effective date continues to be tax-exempt.
Although likely not the intent of In re Siag Aerisyn, LLC, a recent decision from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee Southern Division, some might argue that the opinion serves as a how-to guide for masking a capital contribution by an affiliate as a loan constituting bona fide debt.
Trust preferred securities (TRUPs), the highbred security that counted as Tier 1 regulatory capital but generated tax deductible interest payments, were a favored source of capital for community banks. When the financial crisis hit, many bank holding companies (BHCs) with troubled bank subsidiaries exercised the right to defer interest payments on their outstanding TRUPs for up to five years. Interest continued to accrue during the deferral period, but the deferral was not a default and there was nothing that the TRUPs holder could do but wait.
Judge Drain’s recent decision confirming the Momentive Performance Materials Inc. plan is just the latest in a series of recent cases involving “make whole” premiums. As in several of the recent cases, the lenders lost because the contract did not clearly enough provide for the make whole premium in the event of an acceleration rather than prepayment.
A senior mortgagee battled the debtor and a junior mortgagee over its entitlement to post-petition interest: If and when did it become oversecured and thus entitled to interest? Was it entitled to interest at the default rate? Should the interest be compounded?