On September 30, 2020, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled in favor of the assignee of the famous LEHMAN BROTHERS trademark against the registration that mark as a brand name for beer, spirits, and bar and restaurant services, finding that the LEHMAN BROTHERS mark had not been abandoned. Barclays Capital, Inc. v. Tiger Lily Ventures, Ltd. (TTAB, September 30, 2020, non-precedential).
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced big-name brands to pursue unique strategies to secure fiscal relief.
Since filing for Chapter 11 in May 2020, Hertz and its major stakeholders have been in negotiations and, at times, disputes over how best to reduce Hertz’s nearly half-a-million vehicle fleet. These negotiations and disputes have caught the eye of investors in asset-backed securities (“ABS”) and market watchers alike, as the outcome of the case could have rippling effects across the ABS industry and capital markets, generally.
In Chandos Construction v Deloitte Restructuring, the Supreme Court clarified one aspect of bankruptcy law – the scope and application of the anti-deprivation rule – while leaving an unsettled area of contract law – the penalty doctrine – to be resolved for another day. Here, we consider the implications of the newly-clarified anti-deprivation rule as it applies to the construction industry.
Background
The Australian government has taken swift action to enact new legislation that significantly changes the insolvency laws relevant to all business as a result of the ongoing developments related to COVID-19
In a recent decision, the German Federal Supreme Court addressed the applicability of the Business Judgement Rule to insolvency administrators in Germany and rejected the applicability of the rule in the specific case that was argued before it.
In the latest decision arising out of long-running disputes over confirmation of the Tribune Company’s Chapter 11 plan, the Third Circuit issued important new guidance concerning the enforceability of subordination agreements in cramdown plans, holding (1) that subordination agreements “need not be strictly enforced” in such plans, and (2) that the relevant comparison, for determining unfair discrimination, need not always be a comparison between the recovery of the preferred class and the dissenting class, but may sometimes entail a comparison between the dissenting class’s desired and act
Perseverance, dear my lord Keeps honour bright: to have done, is to hang Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail In monumental mockery William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida
Styles & Wood (In Administration) v GE CIF Trustees (unreported) (County Court at Central London)
In a not altogether unsurprising blow for aircraft lessors and financiers, an appeal against the earlier decision of the Federal Court of Australia on the interpretation of the phrase ‘give possession of the aircraft object to the creditor’ as used in Article XI of the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment (the Aircraft Protocol) in the context of an insolvency has been allowed by the Full Court and various original orders set aside.
In a recent decision, the High Court held that an application to admit witness evidence which had been filed and served late should be treated like an application for relief from sanctions under CPR 3.9: Wolf Rock (Cornwall) Ltd v Langhelle [2020] EWHC 2500 (Ch).