The Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Marblegate Asset Management LLC v. Education Management Corp. on May 12, 2016. One might have thought from the courtroom’s overflow crowd that it was the opening argument in a mob trial, but this is a case about a bond indenture. At issue is whether an out-of-court debt restructuring that did not amend the indenture’s principal and interest terms, but that effectively precluded the noteholders’ ability to be repaid, violated § 316(b) of the Trust Indenture Act (TIA).

Funds passing through a correspondent bank account in New York can create personal jurisdiction over the funds’ recipient, ruled the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.  In Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Arcapita Bank B.S.C. v.

“Some people have a way with words, and other people…oh, uh, not have way.”

― Steve Martin

On Saturday, February 13, Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, passed away.  Although there has been no shortage of media coverage (and brouhaha regarding Justice Scalia’s successor and the process for appointing same), we at the Weil Bankruptcy Blog want to take a moment to pay our respects.  

A foreign company makes a foreign distribution to foreign shareholders shortly before merging with a U.S. company in a highly-leveraged LBO.  The resulting company files a chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York 13 months later.  Can the foreign transfer be avoided as a fraudulent conveyance under section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code?  Previously, the answer was almost certainly not (at least in the Southern District of New York).

Can bankruptcy courts order government entities to take certain actions?  If so, can they exercise such authority after a chapter 9 debtor’s plan of adjustment has been confirmed?  The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, in 

For those readers who have a sophisticated understanding of bankruptcy law, the holdings of Jester v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (In re Jester) will not be surprising.

There are no secrets in bankruptcy, or at least only in very limited circumstances, according to a recent decision in 

Providing notice to creditors of actions that could affect their interests is one of a debtor’s most important responsibilities.  Absent proper notice, relief requested by a debtor that may be warranted could nonetheless be denied.  Indeed, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure set out pages and pages of rules regarding the time periods, form, and content of notices that a debtor, among others, must follow.  As the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado recently reminded us in the 

“Startin’ to feel like there’s nothin’ left to talk about but the, money, money

Bill collectors keep comin’ . . . to get money, money”

-Curtis James Jackson, III – “Money”