Fisker Automotive’s chapter 11 case began in what has become a depressingly familiar fashion – a fast-tracked sale to a secured lender. However, two rulings by Judge Kevin Gross of the U.S.
According to a recent report issued by the American Bankruptcy Institute, there was a 24 percent drop in business bankruptcy filings in the United States last year, resulting in the fewest filings since 2006. The larger corporate filings in 2013 were not the typical “mega” filings of years past. Unlike Lehman, Chrysler, Tribune, MF Global and others, the chapter 11 “mega-cases” filed in 2013 were smaller and less well known in the general business community. Among the more prominent were Cengage Learning, Excel Maritime, and Exide Technologies.
Section 1121(e)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code provides a 180-day exclusive period for a small business debtor to file a plan, unless this period is extended by the court. Section 1121(e)(2) provides “the” plan and a disclosure statement (if any) shall be filed no later than 300 days after the order for relief. Section 1121(e)(3) provides that the deadlines in 1121(e)(1) and (e)(2) may be extended only if the debtor demonstrates that it is more likely than not that the court will confirm a plan within a reasonable period of time.
In In reLehman Brothers Inc., two creditors recently made an unsuccessful attempt to infuse Section 510(b) of the Bankruptcy Code with ambiguity and avoid the subordination of their claims. In re Lehman Brothers, Inc., 2014 WL 288571 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.
In In re B.R. Brookfield Commons No. 1 LLC, 735 F.3d 596 (7th Cir. 2013) (No.
On January 14, 2014, Judge Robert E.
On January 14, 2014, Judge Robert E. Gerber of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Weisfelner v. Fund 1. (In re Lyondell Chemical Co.), Adv. Proc. No. 10-4609 (REG), 2014 WL 118036 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Jan.
The “new value” defense used by creditors in preference actions requires a creditor to determine the pre-petition amounts of unpaid “new value” it gave to a debtor after the debtor paid the creditor for goods/services provided. Debtors often argue that creditors can’t use this defense for pre-petition new value that has been repaid on a post-petition basis. Such repayments include critical vendor payments and payments for goods/services provided to the debtor within the 20 days prior to a bankruptcy filing.
Not-for-profit entities are not immune from the business cycles, risk of lawsuits and other threats to solvency. Managing the collapse of an organization has always required diligence, but recent IRS enforcement initiatives and a recent District Court decision have made these situations even more troublesome. During the wind-down of a failed organization, there has generally been no personal liability for managers who have chosen to pay some vendors over others (except for certain limited statutory exceptions such as trust fund taxes).