According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, total commercial Chapter 11 filings in July 2021 decreased 62 percent from the previous year. Commercial Chapter 11 filings totaled 244 in July 2021, down from the July 2020 total of 644. Lender forbearance, continued low interest rates, and massive financial intervention by the U.S. and economies world-wide have allowed financially distressed companies to survive during the pandemic. As relief programs recede, however, we will likely see an increase in Chapter 11 filings.
Der Bundesgerichtshof hat in einer aktuellen Entscheidung seine Rechtsprechung zur Vorsatzanfechtung nach § 133 InsO neu ausgerichtet. Die Anforderungen für diesen in der Praxis äußerst relevanten Anfechtungstatbestand wurden merklich erhöht.
Der nachfolgende Beitrag soll dem Leser einen Überblick über die wesentlichen Neuerungen verschaffen.
The High Court has, for the first time since the introduction of the legislation in June 2020, refused to sanction a cross-class cram-down restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act. In In the matter of Hurricane Energy Plc [2021] EWHC 1759 (Ch), the court rejected a plan supported by bondholders because it had not been shown that the opposing shareholders had no better alternative prospects (i.e., the ‘no worse off condition’ had not been met).
Two controversial mechanisms are available in many circuits to assist parties in a chapter 11 case to reach a global resolution and obtain plan confirmation: non-consensual third-party releases and preliminary stays against third-party litigation.
On June 28, 2021, in the chapter 11 cases of Paragon Offshore plc and certain of its affiliates (“Paragon” or the “Debtors”), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware denied the U.S. Trustee’s motion[1] to compel payment of $250,000 in statutory fees assessed against litigation trust distributions.
On August 3, 2021, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to examine student loan bankruptcy reform. Committee members and witnesses highlighted the unfair treatment of student loan debt under the bankruptcy code and the rigid standard borrowers must meet to discharge student loans.
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and John Cornyn introduced TheFresh Start Through Bankruptcy Act to address the growing bipartisan consensus that struggling borrowers need student loan bankruptcy reform.
The Board of the Privy Council has allowed an appeal in relation to the application of the so-called “reflective loss” principle, confirming that the rule falls to be assessed as at the point in time when a claimant suffers loss and not at the time proceedings are brought Primeo Fund v Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) Ltd & Anor (Cayman Islands) [2021] UKPC 22.
The recent Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal case of Quin v Vlahos [2021] VCSA 205 has clarified when third party funds, such as a sole director’s personal bank account, can be taken into account in determining a company’s solvency.
Key Takeaways
Until the recent decisions of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in Badenoch Integrated Logging Pty Ltd v Bryant, in the matter of Gunns Limited (in liq) (receivers and managers appointed) [2021] FCAFC 64 (Badenoch) and Badenoch Integrated Logging Pty Ltd v Bryant, in the matter of Gunns
In a recent post, I discussed three situations in which a debtor in bankruptcy might find itself dispossessed of assets that appeared to be property of the bankruptcy estate. This article expands on that general idea and presents a compendium of situations in which creditors or circumstances may deprive a debtor of assets or their value.
Editor’s Note: this is likely not an asset upon which you should base your reorganization – see below.