“How was I supposed to know that something wasn’t right here … Show me how you want it to be.  Tell me baby ‘cause I need to know now…” – Britney Spears

Undersecured creditors may breathe a little easier.  In a recent decision, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied the debtors’ request to use an undersecured creditor’s cash collateral, in the form of postpetition rents, to pay estate professional fees, holding that the undersecured creditor was not adequately protected even though the value of its collateral was stable and possibly increasing.  

The mergers and acquisitions surge witnessed at the end of 2013 continued through 2014 and drove overall global mergers and acquisitions activity to 2007 pre-recession levels.

“Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.” – Voltaire

It’s that time of year again! The bankruptcy courts’ new rules, fees, and forms come into effect today. Just like news outlets this time of year summarize where you can find the best online deals, we thought we’d take the opportunity to review this year’s bankruptcy-related amendments. Consult your local listings bankruptcy rules, statutes and forms for more detail.

Rule Amendments

The question “Where’s the Beef?” is typically associated with the famous Wendy’s television commercial from 1984 and its lovable actress, Clara Peller. But the recent decision in the chapter 7 case of a national meat processor had an avoidance action defendant asking, “Where’s the Beef … (with me)?” after the debtor’s chapter 7 trustee attempted to avoid over $5 million in transfers made by the debtor to the defendant prepetition.

“Why is electricity so expensive these days? Why does it cost so much for something I can make with a balloon and my hair?” – Dennis Miller

Judge Christopher Sontchi of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has now weighed in on a hotly debated circuit court split.

Bankruptcy courts typically rely on three valuation methods to determine a debtor’s enterprise value: comparable company analysis, precedent transaction analysis, and discounted cash flow analysis.

Recently, the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana stayed its own judgment pending an appeal to resolve doubt over the bankruptcy court’s authority to enter judgment on counterclaims related to a management agreement among Highsteppin’ Productions, L.L.C.