In a recent decision, Judge Mary F. Walrath of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware greatly limited debtors’ ability to release parties under a chapter 11 plan in the bankruptcy cases of Washington Mutual, Inc. (“WMI”), and its debtor affiliates (together with WMI, the “Debtors”). In In re Washington Mutual, Inc., Judge Walrath approved a global settlement agreement (the “Global Settlement”) reached by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver for Washington Mutual Bank (“WaMu Bank”); JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Administrations, including "pre-packs", are not capable of constituting "insolvency proceedings...instituted with a view to the liquidation of the assets of the transferor" within the meaning of Regulation 8(7) of TUPE. Where there is a sale of an undertaking by an administrator, the employees assigned to the undertaking will automatically transfer to the buyer and receive unfair dismissal protection.

Key facts

The early 2000s witnessed a wave of chapter 11 filings by entities with liability for asbestos personal-injury claims. The large number of filings was matched by the variety of legal strategies that companies pursued to address their asbestos liabilities in chapter 11. The chapter 11 case of Quigley Company, Inc. ("Quigley"), was one of the last large asbestos cases to file in the 2000s and represents one of the more interesting strategies for dealing with asbestos liabilities in chapter 11.

The "common interest" doctrine allows attorneys representing different clients with aligned legal interests to share information and documents without waiving the work-product doctrine or attorney-client privilege. Issues involving the common-interest doctrine often arise during the course of a business restructuring, because restructurings tend to involve various constituencies, including the company, the official committee of unsecured creditors, secured debt holders, other creditors, and equity holders whose legal interests may be aligned at any one time.

As part of an intended comprehensive amendment of German insolvency law, the German Federal Ministry of Justice has prepared a draft of a new law to facilitate the reorganization of enterprises (“Reorganization Facilitation Act”). The new law will curtail the rights of shareholders of insolvent companies and allow capital measures and other corporate measures to be taken in the insolvency of a company without the participation of the shareholders. The new regulation is of interest to investors because it will significantly simplify the purchase of the shares of an insolvent company.

Many multinational corporations ("MNCs") are either restructuring or actively considering restructuring their China operations, given the current economic conditions and forecasts. Restructuring efforts often include consolidating legal entities, business units, and operations; closing down operations and factories; and workforce reductions. Implementing such restructuring efforts often raises complicated legal issues, many of which require careful analysis in light of recent legislation and policy considerations.

Consolidating Operations

Valuation is a critical and indispensable part of the bankruptcy process. How collateral and other estate assets (and even creditor claims) are valued will determine a wide range of issues, from a secured creditor’s right to adequate protection, post-petition interest, or relief from the automatic stay to a proposed chapter 11 plan’s satisfaction of the “best interests” test or whether a “cram-down” plan can be confirmed despite the objections of dissenting creditors.

In a judgment of November 29, 2007 that is of particular interest to financial institutions involved in asset-based lending, the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) allayed concerns that a global assignment (Globalzession)—the assignment of all existing and future trade receivables to a lender to secure loans—would not survive the insolvency of the respective originator.[1] This decision was eagerly awaited because various judgments of German Higher Regional Courts (Oberlandesgerichte) had raised concerns lately that the security interest over receivables created in the last th

A fundamental premise of chapter 11 is that a debtor’s prebankruptcy management is presumed to provide the most capable and dedicated leadership for the company and should be allowed to continue operating the company’s business and managing its assets in bankruptcy while devising a viable business plan or other workable exit strategy. The chapter 11 “debtor-in-possession” (“DIP ”) is a concept rooted strongly in modern U.S. bankruptcy jurisprudence. Still, the presumption can be overcome.

Aim of the Reform

On March 8, 2014, Spain enacted urgent measures to govern refinancing and restructuring of corporate debt ("RDl 4/2014"), modifying several provisions of the Spanish Insolvency Act (the "Act"). The objective of the reform is to improve the legal framework that governs refinancing agreements to remove obstacles that have previously impeded the successful execution of restructuring and refinancing transactions. 

Principal Amendments