In a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reaffirmed its position sanctioning, under appropriate circumstances, nonconsensual third party release provisions in chapter 11 plans. In SE Prop. Holdings, LLC v. Seaside Eng’g & Surveying, Inc.(In re Seaside Eng’g & Surveying, Inc.), 780 F.3d 1070 (11th Cir. 2015), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed bankruptcy and district court decisions approving a debtor’s chapter 11 plan that released the debtor’s former principals over the objection of a noninsider equity holder.
Your tenant files for bankruptcy-what’s your move? Debtors who are lessees under real property leases have certain rights regarding their lease under § 365 of the Bankruptcy Code. Essentially, the debtor has two options: 1) reject the lease or 2) assume the lease, provided that the debtor can cure any defaults existing under the lease. Additionally, the debtor may have the right to assume and assign the lease to a third party.
In melodramatic movie weddings, guests are urged, before the couple is joined in matrimony, to “speak now or forever hold their peace” (although this phrase never seems to work its way into actual wedding ceremonies – presumably because there are no longer legitimate objections to a marriage that guests should be voicing at the wedding).
When is an agreement a true lease entitling the nondebtor lessee to possessory protections under section 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code? The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey addressed this issue in the
In a post-housing crisis economy, many homeowners, facing a plummet in home values, found themselves trapped in homes that are worth less than the amount they owe bank. Those homeowners have sought refuge in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, attempting to strip down the first mortgage and leaving many junior lienholders holding nothing but the bag—until now. In a big win for lenders, the U.S.
On June 11, 2015, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey recognized that a condominium association’s lien is entitled to a limited six-month priority over a first mortgage.
Breach or termination? In most cases involving the rejection of an unexpired lease where the debtor is the lessee, whether a rejection constitutes merely a “breach,” as stated in section 365(g) of the Bankruptcy Code, or a “termination” is largely academic – the debtor vacates the premises, and the lessor files a prepetition claim for rejection damages. The debtor and its landlord may argue about the
Sophisticated real estate lenders spend significant amounts of time and energy attempting to insulate themselves from potential bankruptcy filings by their borrowers. A primary reason, which many an experienced real estate lender has found out the hard way, is the risk that a debtor in bankruptcy may “cram down” a plan of reorganization over its lender’s objection. Under a typical cramdown plan, a debtor may stretch out payments to its secured creditor for several years and attempt to replace its negotiated interest rate with a new, below- market rate of interest.
The Nutter Bank Report is a monthly electronic publication of the firm’s Banking and Financial Services Group and contains regulatory and legal updates with expert commentary from our banking attorneys.