A recent decision by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York may enhance the ability of bankruptcy trustees and creditors committees to challenge allegedly fraudulent transfers that could qualify for protection under the “safe harbor” of section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code.
The bankruptcy case of Energy Future Holdings (EFH) and its affiliates has already provided the Delaware bankruptcy court occasion to tackle a number of important bankruptcy questions, including the propriety of using tender offers to settle noteholder claims during the pendency of the case.
“…to be my student, you must develop a taste for victory.”
Pai Mei, Kill Bill
Under the Bankruptcy Code, a debtor in possession operates its business “as usual” during the pendency of a case. Likewise, in most cases, prepetition corporate governance practices and procedures should continue post-petition. In fact, as Judge Sontchi recently held in In re SS Body Armor I, Inc., Case No. 10-1125(CSS) (Bankr. D. Del. April 1, 2015), the right of a shareholder to compel a shareholders’ meeting for the purpose of electing a new board of directors continues during bankruptcy. Absent “clear abuse,” the automatic stay of 11 U.S.C.
This week we present for your consideration two cases: (a) an Alabama Court of Civil Appeals decision setting aside a default judgment against a car dealership because the defendant’s delay in answering complaint was not unreasonable when defendants tendered complaint to attorney when served; and (b) an Eleventh Circuit decision regarding the classification of promissory notes from an involvement developer as senior debt in a bankruptcy.
When a debtor pays the market cost for goods and services provided to it by third-party vendors, these payments normally cannot be recovered as fraudulent transfers in the U.S. That is because the debtor receives reasonably equivalent value for the payments to its vendors and because the unsuspecting vendors can assert a good faith defense based on the value provided.
This Alert is one of a series published by Schulte Roth & Zabel that analyzes the report released on Dec. 8, 2014 (“Report”) by the American Bankruptcy Institute Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 (“Commission”), which recommended numerous changes to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Code”).
In the case of Isaac, et al. v. RMB, Inc., et al., No. 14-11560 (11th Cir. March 17, 2015), the Eleventh Circuit recently upheld summary judgment in favor of a debt collector based on the affirmative defense of bona fide error. The case presents a good opportunity to see what type of evidence is needed to prevail on the defense.
KRS Summary on Fraudulent Transfers
A fraudulent transfer (fraudulent conveyance) is an attempt to avoid debt by transferring money to another person or company. It is often an issue in debtor/creditor relations, particularly in bankruptcy when referring to insolvent debtors.