In Breanne Martin v. Leslie Gladstone, the Second District Court of Appeal recently decided a case that could reverberate throughout the receivership and bankruptcy industries. This case comes at a propitious moment as bankruptcy proceedings and receiverships – particularly for distressed commercial real estate entities – trend upward in California. Receivers and bankruptcy trustees alike should consider this case before operating a commercial real estate distressed entity.

The Doughertys’ Bankruptcy Proceeding

The original version of this article was first published in the Trilegal Quarterly Roundup 

Key Developments

1. Supreme Court clarifies that under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, creditors hold priority over government dues

1. A crucial element to any scheme of arrangement is the question of how creditors are to be classed for voting purposes. In this regard, while the proper test for the classification of scheme creditors is well established, the increasing sophistication of restructuring deals have resulted in recent decisions that reveal finer aspects to the implementation of this test. This article explores the practical issues that appear to be arising with increasing frequency in relation to the composition of creditor classes. 

I. Introduction

Recently, in the case of Vishal Chelani & Ors. v. Debashis Nanda (Civil Appeal No. 3806 of 2023), India’s Supreme Court (SC) ruled on the interface of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA).

Factual background

1. Since 2017, Singapore has continually revamped and enhanced its corporate debt restructuring mechanisms. One of these enhancements is the introduction of the cross-class cramdown in Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (“IRDA”).

2. The cross-class cramdown is a powerful tool which is intended to prevent minority dissentients from blocking the passage of a scheme of arrangement. It can bind entire classes of dissenting creditors, as long as at least 1 class has voted in favour of the scheme, among other requirements.

In 2016, the regulation concerning small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) was initially introduced to aid SME owners in managing their debts through rehabilitation processes that safeguard the interests of both debtors and creditors.

Introduction

If your company is named in a new lawsuit or receives a EEOC charge, part of your review process should include checking to see if the filing complainant or plaintiff has a pending bankruptcy action. If so, the next step is to see if the claimant disclosed their lawsuit or administrative complaint in his or her bankruptcy petition. If not, you may have a successful estoppel argument.

Key takeaways

INTRODUCTION: