Baker Botts L.L.P. v. ASARCO LLC, No. 14-103 (previously described in the October 2, 2014, Docket Report)
On Sunday, June 14, 2015, Colt Holding Company LLC and 9 affiliates, including Colt Defense, LLC filed voluntary chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The case is docketed as case no. 15-11296 and has been assigned to The Honorable Laurie Selber Silverstein.
In this Throwback Thursday piece, we revisit the Seventh Circuit’s landmark decision Levit v. Ingersoll Rand Financial Corp. (In re Deprizio), better known as Deprizio. This decision was a contender for best quote in a case in Weil’s 2014 March Madness competition. As we noted then, “Mr.
I want to share with you a recent development in California asbestos litigation concerning bankruptcy trust disclosures. More specifically, Judge Elias, the Los Angeles Asbestos Supervising Judge, recently issued an order relating to disclosures of bankruptcy trust information.
Despite the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkinson, 573 U.S. ___ (2014) (Arkinson) and Stern v. Marshall, 564 U. S. ___ (2011) (Stern),which dealt with the division of authority between bankruptcy courts and Article III courts, the question of whether a party could consent to a bankruptcy court’s final adjudication of so-called “Stern claims” remained an open issue. No longer. Recently, in Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, ___ U.S.
At the outset, the answer to the question posed in this article seems simple: employers should just pay their employees as much as is reasonably possible. However, when a corporation finds itself in Chapter 11 reorganization, the Bankruptcy Code restricts the use of some traditional motivational methods. Simultaneously, competitors might make tempting job offers to quality employees, inducing them to leave the business. This combination of factors can distract employees from the main task of getting the debtor through the reorganization process.
The Supreme Court recently confirmed in Wellness Int'l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif that parties may consent to having bankruptcy judges resolve their non-core claims – claims to which bankruptcy courts would normally lack adjudicatory authority. The issue presented to the court was whether Article III permits the exercise of the judicial power of the United States by the bankruptcy courts on the basis of litigant consent, and if so, whether implied consent based on a litigant’s conduct is sufficient to satisfy Article III.
The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held in Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, Case No. 14-115, that a bankruptcy court’s order denying confirmation of a debtor’s proposed plan is not a “final” order that can be immediately appealed. The Supreme Court’s decision implicates practical considerations within the bankruptcy process and the appropriate balance between the bargaining power of debtors and creditors.
Case Summary