In another judicial decision springing from Lehman Brothers, as a result of the likely surplus in the estate of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) (LBIE) after all the provable debts have been paid, Mr Justice Richards has issued a ‘statement of conclusions’ in what is called the Waterfall Application. A more detailed judgement is expected in late March 2014. We summarise the conclusions below.

Ranking and Contributions of Shareholders of Inlimited Companies

Many bank holding companies (BHCs) are beginning to face tough choices as the five-year interest deferral period on their trust preferred securities (TruPS) is coming to an end. Consider the following: on Feb. 10, 2014, First Mariner Bancorp, immediately following the end of its five-year interest deferral period on $52 million of TruPS, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition and announced its plans to sell its wholly owned subsidiary, 1st Mariner Bank, in a court-supervised Section 363 sale.

Diaz Reus & Targ LLP scored a stunning victory in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week on behalf of the government of Venezuela, obtaining complete and final dismissal with prejudice of a suit brought by Smith Rocke Ltd., a purported creditor in the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy.

The case is Smith Rocke, Ltd. v. Republica Vliviariana De Venezuela, No. 12 Cv. 7316 (LGS)., 2014 BL 20749 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 27, 2014).

Smith Rocke’s Allegation

In a recent decision by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Weisfelner, v. Fund 1, et al. (In re Lyondell Chem. Co.), 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 159 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) in Weisfelner v. Fund 1 (In Re Lyondell Chemical Co.), 2014 WL 118036 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Jan. 14, 2014) recently held that the safe harbor provision of 11 U.S.C.

Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code limits the ability of a trustee or debtor-in-possession to avoid as a constructive fraudulent transfer or preferential transfer a transaction in which the challenged settlement payment was made through a stockbroker or a financial institution.1 Because of the broad protection granted by section 546(e) – the so-called “safe harbor” provision – parties structuring a leveraged buyout (“LBO”) or similar transaction often ensure that settlement funds flow through one of the listed institutions to inoculate the beneficiaries from a later challenge as a constr

On January 14, 2014, Judge Robert E.

An opinion issued in connection with the bankruptcy cases of Lyondell Chemical Company and its affiliates may have significant implications for shareholders who receive payments in connection with a leveraged buyout when the underlying company subsequently files for bankruptcy. 

Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code provides that a transfer made within two years of a bankruptcy filing is fraudulent if the debtor received less than “reasonably equivalent value” in exchange for the transfer and (i) the transfer rendered the debtor insolvent or was made at a time that the debtor was already insolvent or; (ii) the debtor had an unreasonably small amount of capital; or (iii) the debtor intended to incur, or believed that it would incur, debts that it would be unable to pay as they matured.  The fraudulent transfer laws of most states, made applicable in bankruptcy pro

In Anderson v Krafft-Murphy Co. Inc., 2013 Del. LEXIS 597 (Del. Nov. 26, 2013), the Delaware Supreme Court held that Sections 278 and 279 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, 8 Del. C.