Part I -- Introduction
Your former employee sues you, but your employee-plaintiff filed for bankruptcy. You diligently research the bankruptcy filings and discover the employee did not disclose the lawsuit against you in those filings, which are sworn to under oath. You might have a winner to get out of the case, right? Well, it is not quite that simple, according to a recent ruling in Georgia.
It seems to be a common misunderstanding, even among lawyers who are not bankruptcy lawyers, that litigation in federal bankruptcy court consists largely or even exclusively of disputes about the avoidance of transactions as preferential or fraudulent, the allowance of claims and the confirmation of plans of reorganization. However, with a jurisdictional reach that encompasses “all civil proceedings . . .
In July 2020, when COVID-19 still seemed like a relatively new topic, I published an article that set out in detail the reforms brought in by the Government – partly to try to tackle the impact of COVID-19 – in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance 2020 (“CIGA”).
The Turkish bankruptcy regime went through a fundamental change on 15 March 2018 when a legislative change abolished the postponement of bankruptcy concept and reinstated an updated version of “concordato” in its place. Most of the new provisions introduced with this amendment law were directly acquired in a rush from the insolvency laws of Switzerland; hence, these laws have not been adequately adapted to suit the needs of the Turkish business environment.
On October 7, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) vacated, as moot, two FERC orders asserting concurrent jurisdiction to review the disposition of certain Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation (“PG&E”) power purchase agreements (“PPAs”) that PG&E sought to reject through bankruptcy. In a brief memorandum decision, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel explained that the orders had become moot when the bankruptcy court confirmed a reorganization plan that had PG&E assume, rather than reject, the PPAs.
Australia's largest corporate insolvency reform in 30 years is set to be introduced at the beginning of 2021. Draft legislation, which applies to small businesses, was released last week. Organisations need to familiarise themselves with the information ahead of an anticipated wave of insolvencies in 2021, as COVID-19 related government incentives cease.
Key takeouts
"Cramdown" chapter 11 plans, under which a bankruptcy court confirms a plan over the objection of a class of creditors, are relatively common. Less common are the subset of cramdown plans known as "cram-up" chapter 11 plans. These plans are referred to as such because they typically involve plans of reorganization that are accepted by junior creditors and then "crammed up" to bind objecting senior creditors.