Is a foreign online customer of a bankrupt goods supplier subject to personal jurisdiction in the United States, when sued by a bankruptcy trustee for fraudulent transfers? Yes, says the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California in In re Fox Ortega Enterprises, Inc. Debtor. Michael Kasolas, Chapter 7 Tr., Plaintiff, v. Johnny Yau, Defendant., No. 16-40050, 2018 WL 2191597 (Bankr. N.D. Cal. May 11, 2018).

Legal and Factual Background

Videology, Inc., along with four of its affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-11120). Videology, based in Baltimore, MA, is a software solutions provider in the TV and digital advertising industry.

Section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code permits a bankruptcy trustee to avoid any transfer that would be avoidable by creditors under state fraudulent transfer law. Section 550 of the Bankruptcy Code permits the bankruptcy trustee to recover from the transferee the transferred property in a fraudulent transfer avoided under section 550. Where funds were transferred in an intentional fraudulent transfer, but subsequently an equal or greater quantity of funds were transferred back to the debtor from the transferee, can the trustee still recover from the transferee?

Here’s an aggregation of my daily Twitter posts from April 13-22, 2018, linking to important cases, articles, and news briefs that restructuring professionals will find of interest. Don’t hesitate to reach out and contact me to discuss any posts.

April 13 – 22, 2018

BK CASES:

The Rockport Company, LLC, along with nine (9) affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-11145). Rockport, based in West Newton, MA, is a designer, distributor and retailer of comfort footwear in more than fifty (50) markets worldwide.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently vacated a trial court’s dismissal of a mortgagee’s deficiency claims and remanded to the trial court to determine whether the voluntary dismissal of a bankrupt debtor’s Chapter 11 case without a discharge had any effect on the mortgagee’s right to pursue its pre-petition deficiency claims.

Arecont Vision Holdings, LLC, along with two affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-11142). Arecont, based in Glendale, CA, is a developer and manufacturer of megapixel camera technology for security and surveillance use.

The ATP Oil & Gas Corporation bankruptcy case (Case No. 4:12-bk-36187, S.D. Texas) (“ATP”) involved the intersection of energy and bankruptcy law on a variety of issues. Most recently, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision arising from that case dealing with the relative rights or priorities between the holder of overriding royalty interests (“ORRI”) and parties asserting lien claims or privileges under the Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act (“LOWLA”) (La. Rev. Stat § 9:4861) in a case titled OHA Investment Corporation f/k/a NGP Capital Resources Company v.

The Supreme Court recently addressed two bankruptcy issues. In its opinion, the Court resolved a circuit split regarding the breadth of the safe harbor provision which protects certain transfers by financial institutions in connection with a securities contract. In Village at Lakeridge, the Court weighed in on the scope of appellate review and whether a bankruptcy court’s factual determination should be reviewed for clear error or de novo. These decisions are notable because they provide guidance on previously murky issues of bankruptcy law.

In Bakery and Confectionery Union Fund v. Just Born II, Inc., the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on April 26, 2018, affirmed the district court’s judgment requiring Just Born to pay delinquent contributions into the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund (the Pension Fund), as well as interest, statutory damages and attorneys’ fees.