Click here to view the image.
Almost every year, changes are made to the set of rules that govern how bankruptcy cases are managed — the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. The changes address issues identified by an Advisory Committee made up of federal judges, bankruptcy attorneys, and others.
After a creditor or equity security holder casts its vote to accept or reject a chapter 11 plan, the vote can be changed or withdrawn "for cause shown" in accordance with Rule 3018(a) of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure ("Rule 3018(a)"). However, "cause" is not defined in Rule 3018(a), and relatively few courts have addressed the meaning of the term in this context in reported decisions.
While some of us may have had turkey on the mind over the last few days following the Thanksgiving holiday, members of the U.S. House of Representatives clearly had more important things than turkey to ponder. Just yesterday, December 1, 2014, the House passed H.R. 5421, the Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act of 2014.
Citing Ninth Circuit precedent from cases under the Bankruptcy Act, the Ninth Circuit BAP reluctantly held that a pre-petition state court civil contempt proceeding is exempt from the automatic stay of sec. 362 of the Bankruptcy Code. The decision of the BAP is Yellow Express, LLC v. Mark Dingley (In re: Dingley), 514 B.R. 591 (9th Cir. BAP 2014).
A recent Bankruptcy Court decision in New Jersey took an unusual approach in determining the rights of the debtors’ trademark licensees following the debtors’ rejection of the licenses as executory contracts. In In re Crumbs Bake Shop, Inc., Case No.
Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday. Many go to great lengths to ensure that their Thanksgiving dinner table is replete with all of the traditional Thanksgiving fare: turkey, stuffing, yams covered in marshmallow, and cranberry sauce. While some folks are perfectly happy to buy a pre-made Thanksgiving meal, others must make all of their Thanksgiving fare themselves.
In In re Crumbs Bake Shop, Inc., No. 14-24287 (Bankr. D.N.J., Oct. 31, 2014), Judge Michael B. Kaplan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey held that trademark licenses may be entitled, under a bankruptcy court's equitable powers, to the protections of Section 365(n) of the United States Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.
In Czyzewski v. Sun Capital Partners, Inc.1, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware affirmed a Bankruptcy Court determination that a private equity firm was not liable for its subsidiary portfolio company’s failure to provide adequate notice of a plant closing under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act).
In In re BGI, Inc. f/k/a/ Borders Group, Inc.,1 the Second Circuit recently held that the doctrine of equitable mootness — a doctrine that permits appellate courts to refrain from hearing bankruptcy appeals relating to plan confirmation when it would be “inequitable” to do so – applies in liquidations under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. This ruling extends the doctrine from Chapter 11 reorganizations, in which it has traditionally been applied in the Second Circuit, to liquidations.