HFW DISPUTES DIGEST 2023
Welcome to the second annual Disputes Digest, in which we collate our 2023 global HFW LITIGATION and International Arbitration publications in one place.
This edition includes updates from across our Disputes arena, including England and Wales, BVI, AsiaPac, and the Middle East.
As we turn to a new year, my wife and I like to reminisce about our best days and milestones of the prior year (for 2023, it was a huge celebration with our best friends for my wife’s birthday, an epic bike ride with our kids on a beautiful day in Kiawah, and seeing “the Boss” in concert in Greensboro). Professionally, I find myself thinking about my friend and mentor, George Cauthen, who reached a milestone and retired from the active practice of law in 2023.
Here’s my biggest bankruptcy shocker from 2023:
- the Third Circuit’s rationale for dismissing Johnson & Johnson’s bankruptcy.
I’ll try to explain.
Appalled
I’m still appalled by the lack of concern, from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in its dismissal opinion, over these disparities it describes in results for similarly situated claimants:
The last 12 months have seen a steady increase in restructuring and stressed or distressed financing transactions in the European market across a range of sectors, including tech, real estate, hospitality, manufacturing and retail.
“Bankruptcy provides a valuable and desirable venue for the resolution of [mass tort] disputes” by:
Introduction
Bankruptcy Considerations for Unitranche Transactions with Super-Priority Revolvers without an AAL
There are many reasons to mandate mediation in certain circumstances.
- One is to improve the quality of justice.
- Another is to manage an expanding docket and burgeoning caseload.
- A third is to create a mediation culture where none currently exists.
There are two ways to mandate mediation:
- Globalization of Businesses Leads to More Cross Border Restructurings – With the increase in international businesses’ globalization comes an increase in cross border restructurings both inside and outside of courts.
Recently, two significant distressed companies with thousands of commercial leases, Rite Aid and WeWork, each filed chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, seeking in part to rationalize their geographic footprints through the rejection of a substantial portion of their lease portfolios.