On November 8, 2013, three monoline insurers of the City’s general obligation bonds commenced adversary proceedings in the City of Detroit bankruptcy case.1 Through these actions, the monoline insurers seek to compel enforcement of the status quo for the general obligation bonds by requiring the City to continue to segregate ad valorem taxes in accordance with Michigan law. As these actions progress, they may clarify whether state law protections for general obligation bonds apply in chapter 9 and test the jurisdictional limitations imposed on a bankruptcy court by se
With companies facing significant distress due to vast over-leverage, debtors have increasingly turned to asset sales under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, rather than Chapter 11 plans, to dispose of their assets quickly and begin the process of winding down their estates. According to the UCLA-LoPucki Bankruptcy Research Database, less than 4 percent of all large, public company bankruptcies were resolved by substantial asset sales from 1990-2000. However, in the period from 2001-2010, that figure rose to nearly 20 percent – peaking in 2011 when 43 percent of large pu
Since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, casinos owned by Native American tribes have proliferated across tribal lands and have generated billions of dollars in revenue annually. While casinos such as Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are among the largest and well-known tribal casinos, over 60 exist in the State of California, where many dozen small properties have sprung up throughout the state in recent years, in some cases built in part with the proceeds of high-yield bond debt. This recent growth spurt juxtaposed with the prolonged downturn in consumer spending
On May 29, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court in RadLAX Gateway Hotel v. Amalgamated Bank, its first significant Chapter 11 opinion in several years, affirmed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit’s decision in River Road Hotel Partners v. Amalgamated Bank, prohibiting a debtor from selling assets free and clear of liens under a plan of reorganization without permitting a secured creditor to credit bid. RadLAX resolves a circuit split and reverses prior rulings of the U.S.
On November 23, 2011, the Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania dismissed Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy petition because, shortly before the filing, the state legislature expressly prohibited Harrisburg from seeking relief under Chapter 9.
The issue of whether Section 362(a) operates as a stay of ITC Section 337 investigations arose in several ITC cases in the last two years. The first case, ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-605, involved Spansion, Inc., a Delaware corporation that manufactures semiconductor chips outside the United States. Spansion was named as a Respondent in the case and contended that the ITC investigation should be stayed as to Spansion pursuant to the automatic stay provision of Section 362(a).
Introduction
In a recently filed motion in the United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York (the “Motion”), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“LBHI”) is seeking to compel Metavante Corporation (“Metavante”) to perform its obligations under a swap agreement between Metavante and Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc.
Introduction
In Go West Entertainment, Inc. v. New York Liquor Authority (In re Go West Entertainment, Inc.),1 the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York refused to extend the automatic stay or to utilize its other injunctive powers to prevent state regulatory authorities from revoking a debtor’s liquor license.