One of the more appealing aspects of the U.S. bankruptcy process is the relative ease in which parties in interest may file proofs of claim. In years passed all it took was to mail in a simple form to the bankruptcy court or claims agent and now it is even easier with the advent of email and electronic claims uploading. This relatively easy process, however, often comes with a plethora of invalid or unenforceable proofs of claim.
Section 105(a) of the Bankruptcy Code acts as the Bankruptcy Code’s equitable backstop, empowering bankruptcy courts to “issue any order, process, or judgment that is necessary or appropriate to carry out [its] provisions” and to, “sua sponte, take[e] any action or mak[e] any determination necessary or appropriate to enforce or implement court orders or rules, or to prevent an abuse of process.” Does section 105(a), though, authorize
On February 8, 2016 we reported on the decision of Judge Walrath of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in
Bond restructurings Implementation mechanisms: schemes vs. exchange offers December 2015 ■ a principal haircut; ■ extended maturity; and / or ■ a change in coupon (rate and/or whether the coupon is cash-pay or PIK). Exchange offers are based entirely on voluntary participation. They can only succeed if a critical mass of bondholders agrees to participate. A “carrot and stick” approach is used to incentivise participation and penalise holdouts. For background on the use of schemes of arrangement as restructuring tools, see here.
As we’ve previously covered in prior blog posts, Being In Love Means Never Being Able To Get Your Student Loans Discharged, Or Why Stedman Graham Should Have To Pay His Student Loans and
Section 303(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code allows an involuntary petition to be filed by three or more creditors who hold non-contingent claims totaling at least $15,325 more than the liens on the debtor’s property. Those creditors then must prove that the debtor was generally not paying its debts as they came due within the guidelines
For many parents with school-age kids, the month of August marks the end of summer vacation and the start of the new school year, and in this spirit, a post on practice fundamentals seems appropriate. Specifically, attorneys are responsible for (i) maintaining an accurate address of record to ensure proper service and (ii) monitoring their case docket to avoid missing a deadline. While this may seem elementary, the recent decision from Judge Teel of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia nonetheless reinforces a point that is particularly applicable to a