Supply chain finance products have a well-deserved reputation of being fairly low risk propositions. The majority of facilities are uncommitted, exposures are typically short-term and many counterparties are highly rated and well capitalized.
Yesterday, in an 8-1 decision, the US Supreme Court held in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v.
PEM Entities LLC v. Levin, No. 16-492
InIn re: Delta Petroleum Corp. (Bankr. Del. Apr. 2, 2015), the bankruptcy court (the “Court”) considered competing motions for summary judgment as to whether certain overriding royalty interests (“ORRIs”) constituted (1) mere contractual rights to payment that were discharged by the confirmed chapter 11 reorganization plan or (2) real property interests that were not part of the estate in bankruptcy and, thus, survived the trustee’s challenge.
On 8 October 2013, the Supreme Court of Vietnam released the most recent draft of the new Law on Bankruptcy ("Draft Bankruptcy Law"). The Draft Bankruptcy Law is now open for comments and, once passed by the National Assembly, will replace the current Law on Bankruptcy 2004 ("Current Bankruptcy Law").
The Draft Bankruptcy Law appears generally to be a positive step in Vietnam's efforts to improve the efficiency of the bankruptcy process and efforts to enhance the credibility of the legal framework for restructuring.
Conduct of Bankruptcy Proceedings
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the costs of complying with Financial Support Directions (“FSDs”) proposed to be issued to certain Nortel and Lehman companies by the Pensions Regulator (“TPR”) qualify as “super priority” administration expenses, payable in priority to unsecured creditors, floating charge holders and the administrators’ own fees.
The question
In the case of In re: Exide Technologies, decided on June 1, 2010, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed two lower court decisions and held that a 1991 agreement between Exide Technologies and EnerSys Delaware Inc., which included a license to EnerSys for use of the “EXIDE” trademark, is not an executory contract that can be rejected by Exide in bankruptcy proceedings.
Sec. Investor Prot. Corp. v. Bernard L. Madoff Inv. Secs., 474 B.R. 76 (2012)
The trustee for the Securities Investor Protection Act ("SIPA") liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC ("BLMIS") filed a complaint in the bankruptcy court against Maxam Absolute Return Fund Ltd. ("Maxam"), seeking the return of about $100 million distributed to Maxam by BLMIS. Maxam answered the complaint and then sued the trustee in the Cayman Islands seeking a declaration that it was not required to return the money.
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court held that sales of assets pursuant to chapter 11 plans must permit credit bidding by their secured lenders in order to satisfy the requirements for confirmation of a chapter 11 “cramdown” plan.1
Secured lenders have had long-held expectations of certain protections in the event the borrower files for bankruptcy.