Judge Vincent Bricetti of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a ruling in the Momentive Performance Materialscases affirming the Bankruptcy Court’s confirmation rulings on Monday, May 4.  Key themes raised in this case of interest to distressed investors and addressed in Judge Bricetti’s ruling include the appropriate interpretation of

In post-confirmation proceedings, bankruptcy courts maintain the ability to clarify a plan where silent or ambiguous, and interpret a plan to advance equitable considerations.  However, bankruptcy courts are not allowed to modify a plan outside the confines of section

Today’s blog article, which looks at offshore leases in the United States, is the fourth in a Weil Bankruptcy Blog series, “Drilling Down,” a series that will look at issues at the intersection of the oil and gas industry and bankruptcy law.  In Part One we provided an overview of the oil and gas industry, in 

As a part of our continuing coverage of the 2012-2014 Final Report and Recommendations of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, we’ve reported on a number of the Commission’s proposed revisions and reforms to the Bankruptcy Code, many of which (i.e., systemically important financial institutions, cross-border cases, DIP financing, etc.) primarily impact the traditional big players i

As a company turns in the widening gyre of financial distress, its directors and officers are often confronted with situations that require them to make difficult decisions. Should things fall apart, those decisions may give rise to claims that directors or officers breached their fiduciary duties to the company. A 

Those of us old enough to remember the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (or NAFTA) recall its promise of free movement of goods, services, persons, and capital between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and greater economic prosperity in each of these countries.

The ability of a foreign debtor to avail itself of the protections of the Bankruptcy Code, such as the automatic stay, with respect to its property located within the United States is one of the most fundamental and valuable tools available to foreign debtors with domestically located property. When a foreign debtor obtains “recognition” of its principal insolvency proceeding by U.S.

During the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, it became commonplace for a distressed bank to be taken over(night) by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and then sold, that same day, to another bank (or bank holding company) that agreed to take on the depository liability associated with the failed bank in exchange for its assets (and customer base). Some banks, however, survived the tidal wave of takeovers.

In 1932, J. Howard Marshall and William O.

As a result of the sheer number of legal and factual issues involved in many chapter 11 cases, bankruptcy judges can sometimes find themselves as captives of the parties; they may not appreciate the significance of an issue or a provision buried in a longer document unless it is properly presented. Thus, it is imperative that counsel flag the key issues for the court.