Courts Begin to Wrestle with the Impact of on a Debtor’s Ability to Recover Estate Property

Before we offend our fellow law practitioners outside of the United States, we want to emphasize that this blog entry is not about what is “better” – chapter 11 or other bankruptcy laws, U.S.

The Court of Appeal in London today gave judgment in the Waterfall I Appeal, a dispute as to the distribution of the estimated £7 billion surplus of assets in the main Lehman operating company in Europe, Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (LBIE).

LBIE entered administration on 15 September 2008 and has now paid its unsecured creditors 100p for every £1 owed.  The Waterfall I Appeal addressed some of the key issues as to who should receive the surplus, which we discuss below.

Currency Conversion Claims

In post-confirmation proceedings, bankruptcy courts maintain the ability to clarify a plan where silent or ambiguous, and interpret a plan to advance equitable considerations.  However, bankruptcy courts are not allowed to modify a plan outside the confines of section

“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 recent decision by the Second Circuit, Lucas v. Dynegy Inc. (In re Dynegy, Inc.), No. 13-2581 (2d. Cir. Oct.

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.

This is the second of two posts on Saracheck v. Crown Heights House of Glatt, Inc., a recent decision from the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa regarding an avoidance action against food distributor, Crown Heights House of Glatt, Inc.

If you were to ask people on the street to name the first Jewish holiday that comes to mind, chances are a significant percentage would name Yom Kippur. A well-known Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur is considered to be the holiest day of the Jewish year and is observed by fasting, asking for forgiveness, and praying.

To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, publication notice is, quite often, the debtor’s “last refuge.” Yet it is frequently a necessary feature of the notices provided in bankruptcy cases. Debtors rarely possess an accurate method for notifying the many unidentifiable potential claimants. And so enters publication notice. Pursuant to well-settled law, publication notice – if sufficient – may satisfy the requirement to provide due process to unknown creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding.