On August 11, 2009, the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York denied five motions to dismiss bankruptcy cases filed by certain bankruptcy remote, special purpose subsidiaries (SPEs) of General Growth Properties, Inc. (GGP). The motions were filed by or on behalf of secured lenders to the SPEs (Movants) who argued that the bankruptcy filings were inconsistent with the bankruptcy remote structures that they had negotiated with GGP.
In Re: Katherine Elizabeth Barnet, No. 13-612 (2d Cir. Dec. 11, 2013) [click for opinion]
In re Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V., No. 11-33335-HDH-15 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 13, 2012)
In re: Qimonda AG, No. 09-14766-SM, Bankr. E.D. Va. (Oct. 28, 2011) [click for opinion]
In many decisions involving US chapter 15 cases, the bankruptcy court’s principal focus will be on what is the debtor’s center of main interests (COMI). An ancillary issue is whether it is appropriate to create COMI to obtain the benefit of a more favorable jurisdiction to restructure a company’s debt (otherwise known as “COMI shifting”).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held in Mastan v. Salamon (In re Salamon) that an undersecured creditor with a nonrecourse claim lost the right to assert a deficiency claim under section 1111(b) of the Bankruptcy Code when a senior secured creditor foreclosed on and sold its collateral during the bankruptcy case.
The current Dutch Bankruptcy Code dates back to 1893 when it was first enacted, has aged nicely and still functions well despite the now existing international financial markets and complex financial instruments that could not have been imagined 127 years ago. Although many changes were made since its inception, the Dutch Bankruptcy Code has never had a major overhaul, even though many initiatives were launched over the years.
The oil and gas industry in Texas is currently facing a double whammy from the recent oil price shock and COVID-19 related demand reductions. While exploration and production operators in Texas are proactively taking self-help measures to reinforce their financial frameworks — reducing capital spending, operating expenses, overhead and dividends — the outlook remains highly uncertain.
In re Markus, 607 B.R. 379 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2019) [click for opinion]
The US Supreme Court has reversed the First Circuit's ruling in Mission Products (Mission Prod. Holdings v. Tempnology, LLC (In re Tempnology, LLC), 879 F.3d 389 (1st Cir. 2018)), thereby allowing the trademark licensee in that case to continue using the licensed trademark despite the debtor trademark licensor's rejection of the underlying trademark agreement in its bankruptcy case.