The debtor made claims against a surety that issued a performance bond in connection with a construction contract. The surety contended that it was not liable for the consequential damage claims.
A recent bankruptcy decision from the Southern District of New York should caution business partners about the risks presented if the partnership becomes bankrupt. Limited liability partnerships present advantages such as flexibility in the operation of the business and tax advantages. LLPs also provide protection for partners from the business’ debts. As a result, LLPs are popular among professionals, including attorneys.
“Great cases…make bad law” declared Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in his dissenting opinion in the Northern Securities antitrust case of 1904. One of the most oft-quoted phrases any aspiring lawyer will hear in law school, this maxim stands for the proposition that decisions in cases of great importance from a public or social perspective make a poor basis upon which to construct a general law. Although an otherwise innocuous adversary bankruptcy proceeding (Daren A. Messer, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA (In re Messer), Adv. Pro.
A recent bankruptcy decision in Florida may have implications for troubled healthcare entities that seek to avoid Medicare termination and preserve reimbursements. In the case In re: Bayou Shores SNF, LLC, Case No. 8:14-bk-09521-MGW, (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Dec. 31, 2014), the bankruptcy court found that a nursing home’s Medicare provider agreement had survived bankruptcy despite notice and intent to terminate the agreement issued by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
A recent decision of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the First Circuit, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company v. Keach,[1] ruled that a lender (Wheeling) did not have a perfected security interest in a business interruption insurance policy or its proceeds. The decision in Wheeling is inconsistent with a prior court decision that dealt with business interruption insurance as proceeds of collateral and was more favorable to secured creditors, and therefore should be of concern to lenders.
Background
“And it’s too late, baby now, it’s too late,Though we really did try to make it.”
- Carole King, It’s Too Late
In a February 4, 2015 opinion, the bankruptcy judge presiding over Stockton, California's Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy case approved Stockton's bankruptcy plan of adjustment.
Southside, LLC v SunTrust Bank (In re Southside, LLC), 520 B.R. 914 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. 2014) –
A debtor objected to attorney fees included in the proof of claim filed by a mortgagee, and the mortgagee moved for relief from the automatic stay to exercise its rights under a security deed securing the debtor’s guaranty based in part on the debtor’s lack of equity in the property.
“[W]hat I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career…” – Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), Taken
Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code provides a mechanism for a foreign debtor or representative in non-U.S. insolvency proceedings to protect such debtor’s U.S. assets from U.S. creditors’ collection actions or to stay any litigation commenced in the U.S. The ultimate goal in a chapter 15 proceeding is to preserve the value of the assets of the foreign debtor for the benefit of all its creditors globally.