For the second time in the past few months, Judge Christopher Sontchi has dashed the hopes of certain creditors in the Energy Future Holdings (“EFH”) chapter 11 case that they would be paid a make-whole premium worth over $400 million.

The chapter 9 bankruptcy case of the City of Detroit has been as complex and litigious as anticipated.  Nevertheless, Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has kept plodding forward, and last week filed a proposed plan of adjustment, the road map for the Motor City to emerge from bankruptc

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard arguments in a case that could have substantial implications on the trading of bankruptcy claims. While the court could choose to resolve the case, Longacre Master Fund, Ltd. v.

VIRNICH v. VORWALD (December 20, 2011)

Kary Brown collided with a car while he was driving a truck for Koetter Woodworking. Melvin Kimbrell, a passenger in the car, suffered injuries. Kimbrell brought a personal injury action against both Brown and Smith in October of 2008, although he did not serve process until June of 2009. When Brown advised the district court that he had filed a bankruptcy petition in February 2008, the court stayed the proceeding as to him.

Some legal commentators have lamented the extent to which lenders have been able to use debtor in possession (“DIP”) financing arrangements to gain control over an entire Chapter 11 case.

As participants in the Australian debt restructuring market continue to innovate we expect to see an increase in these control transactions, testing further again the Australian statutory regimes.

Directors are first and foremost responsible to the company as a whole and must exercise their powers and discharge their duties in good faith in the best interests of the company and for a proper purpose. The reference to "acting in the best interests of the company" has generally been interpreted to mean the collective financial interests of the shareholders.

The Court will closely examine the relevant transactions involving the accounts and form a view – which may be an impressionistic one – as to the likely extent of the interest of each client (or each client group) in those accounts.

Key Points:

While shareholders may only need to establish indirect market causation, there are still significant obstacles for establishing shareholder claims.

Do plaintiffs in a shareholder class action have to show they relied upon misleading or deceptive conduct, or is it enough that the market in general relied upon them, which then affected the share price?