Active participants in the derivatives market rely on the Bankruptcy Code safe harbor set forth in section 546(e) in pricing their securities. That provision restricts a debtor’s power to recover payments made in connection with certain securities transactions that might otherwise be avoidable under the Bankruptcy Code. Two high profile cases decided in 2011 addressed challenges to the application of section 546(e). The more widely reported decision (at least outside the bankruptcy arena) was in connection with the Madoff insolvency case. See Picard v.
A recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals contains two important lessons for anyone drafting documents which contain a trademark license. In In re XMH Corporation, the Seventh Circuit held that a licensee may not assign a trademark license in a bankruptcy case over the licensor's objection unless there is an expres
A New York trial court recently held that affiliates and subsidiaries of a bankrupt Mexican holding company were liable as guarantors on indentures issued by the corporation, despite ongoing Mexican bankruptcy proceedings that could potentially discharge their liability under Mexican law. Wilmington Trust, National Assoc. v. Vitro Automotriz, S.A. De C.V., et al., No. 652303/11 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2011).
In a recent case, RBC Capital Markets, LLC v. Education Loan Trust IV et al., 2011 WL 6152282 (Del. Ch. Dec. 6, 2011), a holder of notes issued under an indenture claimed that the issuer caused the trust to pay excess and unauthorized fees that allegedly reduced the amount of interest payments to the noteholder.
The Bottom Line:
The Bottom Line:
Defanging Stern v. Marshall1: The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Modifies the Reference of Bankruptcy Matters to Address Issues Resulting from the Supreme Court’s Ruling
Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 2005 to create a procedure to recognize an insolvency or debt adjustment proceeding in another country and to, in essence, domesticate that proceeding in the United States. Once a foreign proceeding is “recognized,” a step which cannot be achieved without a foreign representative satisfying various requirements, the foreign representative may obtain certain protections from a United Stated bankruptcy court, including the imposition of the automatic stay to protect the foreign debtor’s property in the United States.
At approximately 10:15 this morning, Judge Walrath of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court made an oral ruling confirming Washington Mutual's chapter 11 plan of reorganization.
Over the last three and one-half years, hundreds of attorneys and other professionals have worked thousands of hours in an effort to help WAMU obtain a measure of relief from its debts so that it could emerge from bankruptcy protection with the ability to continue to operate. What has emerged from the process is a smaller, leaner company with a greatly reduced debt load.
In late 2011, bondholders in the bankruptcy case of power company Dynegy Holdings, LLC (Dynegy) moved for the appointment of a bankruptcy examiner to investigate certain transactions that occurred immediately prior to the filing of Dynegy's bankruptcy petition. The transactions at issue involve the alleged transfer of millions of dollars in assets to Dynegy's parent company (a non-debtor) approximately two months prior to the bankruptcy filing.