Weil Summer Associate David Rybak contributed to this post

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).

2018 has been described as “the year of the CVA”, especially in the retail and casual dining sectors. Although company voluntary arrangements can be a useful tool to compromise portfolios of leasehold obligations, there are certain situations where a CVA may be unsuitable.

1. When a full operational and/or financial restructuring is required

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 

The property industry has seen a dramatic decline in capital values over the last two years with peak to trough falls of approximately 44 per cent compared to a peak to trough decline of approximately 27 per cent during the recession of the early 1990s. This, together with the effect of the challenging economic climate, has led to a number of high profile insolvencies of property owners, developers and occupiers. Given the uncertain economic outlook, it is likely that these trends will continue.