The Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California recently granted a secured lender’s request for relief from the automatic stay, pursuant to sections 362(d)(1) and (d)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code, to allow a trustee’s sale of the debtor’s marina under state law. In re Delta Waterways, LLC, Case No. 18-42076-CN (Bankr. N.D. Cal. December 7, 2018). Several missteps and omissions by the debtor appear to have driven the Court’s decision.

Section 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code provides considerable protection to a tenant in the event of a bankruptcy filing by its landlord.

In In re Fairfield TIC, LLC, Case No. 18-73744-VJ (E.D. Va. Nov. 20, 2018), the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed a single asset real estate case, pursuant to section 1112(b) of the Bankruptcy Code, on “bad faith” grounds, based on the holding in Carolin Corp. v. Miller, 886 F.2d 693 (4th Cir. 1989).    

Facts

In IDEA Boardwalk, LLC v. Revel Entertainment Group, LLC (In re Revel AC Inc.), Case No. 17-3607, –F.3d–, 2018 WL 6259316 (3rd Cir. Nov. 30, 2018), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently enforced a tenant’s right to offset rent under a rejected lease of real property, pursuant to section 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code and the doctrine of equitable recoupment.

Facts

In IDEA Boardwalk, LLC v. Revel Entertainment Group, LLC (In re Revel AC Inc.), Case No. 17-3607, --F.3d--, 2018 WL 6259316 (3rd Cir. Nov. 30, 2018), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently enforced a tenant’s right to offset rent under a rejected lease of real property, pursuant to section 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code and the doctrine of equitable recoupment.

Facts

Debtor Revel AC, Inc. (“Revel”) owned a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It filed for chapter 11 relief in 2014.

The Bottom Line

“Section 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code [(“Code”)] and the doctrine of equitable recoupment entitled [a commercial tenant] to continue paying [reduced] rent … even after its landlord filed for bankruptcy and rejected the Lease,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Nov. 30, 2018. In re Revel AC Inc., 2018 WL 6259316, *6 (3d Cir. Nov. 30, 2018).

On December 5, 2018, Senior Care Centers, LLC and 120 subsidiaries (collectively, the “Debtors”) filed for chapter 11 relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. The Debtors are one of the largest providers of skilled nursing services in the country, providing care on a daily basis to approximately 9,000 patients. The Debtors’ facilities include nursing, living and hospice facilities, which are located throughout Texas and Louisiana.

Defendants in a lawsuit didn’t waive their right to arbitrate even after moving to dismiss and answering a complaint, a court held last week. Arbitration wasn’t waived because the defendants hadn’t filed affirmative defenses or counterclaims and had taken no discovery. Trevino v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. (In re Jose Sr. Trevino), Adv. Pro. No. 16-7024, 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 3605 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Nov. 14, 2018).

• A bankruptcy court in Ohio recently applied the incorrect statute of limitations in a mortgage foreclosure action.
• Ohio’s statute of limitations jurisprudence has evolved from an accepted legal proposition derived from one opinion to supposedly well-settled law stating the complete opposite in another opinion.
• Federal courts interpreting Ohio law must apply the correct statute of limitations to mortgage foreclosure actions.

In the bankruptcy case of In re Fisher, 584 B.R. 185, 199–200 (N.D. Ohio Bankr.