Summary
In an 11 page opinion published June 14, 2011, Judge Walrath ruled that a Chapter 7 Trustee’s lack of specificity in pleading a preference action was grounds for dismissal under FRCP 12(b)(6). Judge Walrath’s opinion is available here (the “Opinion”).
Background
In a decision that may have significant practical implications to the practice of bankruptcy law, the U.S. Supreme Court recently declared, on constitutional grounds, that a bankruptcy court cannot exercise jurisdiction over a debtor’s state law counterclaims, thus considerably limiting the ability of the bankruptcy court to fully and finally adjudicate claims in a bankruptcy case. Stern v. Marshall, No. 10-179 (June 23, 2011).
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held inPressure Coolers Ltd v Molley UKEAT/0272/10 that when a transferor under TUPE is subject to insolvency proceedings not instituted with a view to liquidating the transferor's assets, the Secretary of State will only meet employment liabilities that arise before the transfer.
On June 28, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that secured creditors have a statutory right to credit bid1 their debt at an asset sale conducted under a "cramdown" plan. In re River Road Hotel Partners, LLC, ___ F.3d. ___, 2011 WL 2547615 (7th Cir. June 28, 2011).2 The Seventh Circuit's decision creates a split with recent decisions in the Third and Fifth Circuits regarding a lender's ability to credit bid its secured debt. See In re Philadelphia Newspapers, 599 F.3d 298 (3d Cir. 2010); In re Pacific Lumber, Co., 584 F.3d 229 (5th Cir.
In its recent opinion in Jerome Listecki, as Trustee of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust v. Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, 2015 WL 1010089 (7th Cir.
What does Memorial Day weekend mean to you? Perhaps it means having a nice long weekend with family and friends? Or spending hours sitting in traffic with all the people who are getting away from it all for the weekend? Or maybe you are a traditionalist and will spend the weekend getting all of your white clothes out of Manhattan Mini Storage. Well, for the Weil Bankruptcy Blog, the start of Memorial Day weekend means one thing — the return of Bankruptcy Beach Reading.
In In re Filene’s Basement, LLC,1 the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware considered the rejection damages a landlord claimant was entitled to pursuant to Section 502(b)(6) of the Bankruptcy Code after the debtor rejected its lease as part of its reorganization plan.
Last month, the Supreme Court sent to Congress amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. These Amendments will become effective on December 1, 2015, absent Congressional action blocking the changes. The Bankruptcy Rule change only impacts Rule 1007.
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently issued an opinion in Quadrant Structured Products Company1that addresses creditors’ rights to bring derivative lawsuits against directors and officers of a corporation. The Court held that Delaware law does not impose a continuous insolvency requirement and that the “traditional balance sheet test” is the appropriate test for determining solvency. The opinion also provides a roadmap on the current landscape under Delaware law for analyzing breach of fiduciary duty claims.
On May 21, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit answered the long-asked question of whether structured dismissals are permissible under the Bankruptcy Code with a resounding yes.