The Bankruptcy Court’s conversion of Section 11 of the Illinois Conveyance Act from a safe harbor provision to a mandatory checklist that must be satisfied to survive avoidance challenges has been reversed (Crane Bankruptcy – D Ct decision). The Central District of Illinois holds compliance with the statute is permissive. While the statute provides that mortgages containing the enumerated terms, including the interest rate and matu
The bankruptcy of the largest U.S. city to file a chapter 9 bankruptcy petition has yielded a decision with serious implications for municipal creditors. Specifically, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California overruled the objections asserted by retired employees of the City of Stockton, California and authorized the City to suspend the retiree’s health benefits during the City’s Chapter 9 case. Ass’n of Retired Employees of the City of Stockton, et al. v. City of Stockton, California (In re City of Stockton), 56 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 250 (Bankr. E.D.
In In re: Nortel Networks Inc., No. 1:09-bk-10138 (Bankr. D. Del. 2013), Nortel Networks Inc. reached a settlement with over 3,000 of its retired employees for nearly $67 million. Nortel, a former telecom equipment maker, filed for bankruptcy in 2009. In the subsequent four years, Nortel sold off nearly all of its assets, but had been unable to reach a compromise with its retirees to terminate its benefit plans.
On February 26, 2013, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Western Real Estate Equities, L.L.C. v. Village at Camp Bowie I, L.P.1 (“Camp Bowie”). The bankruptcy court confirmed a debtor’s plan of reorganization over the objection of the secured creditor that argued the impaired accepting class of the cramdown plan was “artificially” impaired and that the plan was not proposed in good faith.
Overview
In Carroll v. Farooqi, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22329 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 19, 2013), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas affirmed a U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s holding that an individual had standing to pursue an action against a franchisor under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). The case involved an unsuccessful sale of a Salad Bowl franchise. The CEO of the fast causal franchise company (who was also its president, chairman, and CFO) contacted a potential buyer of a franchise.
On March 4, 2013, ‘SA’ NYU WA Inc., a tribally chartered corporation wholly owned by the Hualapai Indian Tribe, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the of District of Arizona.
Due to the substantial time and effort involved in negotiating and confirming a Chapter 11 reorganization plan, and the potential for improperly solicited votes to be disqualified, plan proponents generally are well advised to adhere strictly to the plan voting and disclosure requirements of the Bankruptcy Code. A recent Delaware bankruptcy court decision, In re Indianapolis Downs, LLC,1 indicates that creditors who actively negotiate the terms of a debtor's reorganization can, under certain circumstances, enter into a formal plan support agreement with the debtor
The long ELNY saga continues, at least for the time being, with two recent developments.
Bankruptcy Code Section 503(b)(9) litigations have sometimes yield "shocking results". There is no pun intended here. This article discusses a recent case where the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Montana waded into the spine tingling issue of whether electricity is a good that is subject to Section 503(b)(9) administrative priority status.