The legislative framework applicable to insolvency and restructuring in Jersey has seen significant developments in recent years, with the introduction of the Companies Regulations No 8 2022 (the Regulations).
The Regulations provide additional powers to a company’s creditors – firstly, in relation to provisional liquidations (an emergency procedure designed to safeguard the assets of a failing company), and secondly in relation to creditors’ winding-ups.
On September 10, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its opinion in Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. The Hertz Corp. (In re The Hertz Corp.), Case No. 23-1169, 2024 WL 4132132 (3d Cir. Sept.
A new Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals opinion[fn. 1] involves the motion of a federal inmate, who was also a Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor, for compassionate-release under 18 U.S. § 3582(c)(1)(A). The new Seventh Circuit opinion denies the motion.
Notably, the bankruptcy Debtor/Inmate is serving a 30-year sentence for making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding The bankruptcy statute is 18 U.S.C. § 152, which declares it is a crime when a person:
Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 144 S. Ct. 2017 (June 27, 2024)
In the early 2000s, the conversation around the standards for a good faith filing in bankruptcy was intense, particularly leading up to the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). Concerns were widespread that bankruptcy provisions were vulnerable to abuse, prompting a national debate on what could constitute a bad-faith filing. Nearly 20 years later, the landscape has evolved significantly. The financial crisis of 2008 brought unprecedented mortgage foreclosures and forced a larger segment of the population to consider bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy of the Mt. Gox cryptocurrency exchange in 2014 was a pivotal moment in cryptocurrency history. It demonstrated the vulnerabilities of early cryptocurrencies and saw the worst fears of the industry become a reality. However, in the years since it has also provided an excellent example of the successful tracing and recovery of a variety of asset classes. Creditors have recently received the first distributions from the recovered assets of Mt Gox, in stark contrast to the initial claims that access to the assets had been lost forever.
Background
In an opinion issued on Sept. 20 by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico, Judge David T. Thuma held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not prevent a bankruptcy court from determining whether the automatic stay applies to pending state court litigation. See In re Shook, Case No. 24-10724-t7 (Bankr. N.M. Sept. 20, 2024) [ECF No. 54].
Confirmation of a chapter 11 plan providing for the reorganization or liquidation of a debtor is the culmination of the chapter 11 process. To promote the fundamental policy of finality in that process, the general rule is that a final confirmation order is inviolable. The absence of certainty that the transactions effectuated under a plan are valid and permanent would undermine chapter 11's fundamental purpose as a vehicle for rehabilitating ailing enterprises and providing debtors with a fresh start.
I’m serving on a Drafting Committee of the Uniform Law Commission for a uniform law on assignment for benefit of creditors (“ABC”). A draft of such a uniform law is coming together, with lots of input from many people and organizations. And we are always looking for more input!
Disagreement regarding the interpretation of section 365(c) of the Bankruptcy Code has led to divergent rulings among the bankruptcy and federal circuit courts regarding whether a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor can assume an executory contract or unexpired lease that is unassignable under applicable non-bankruptcy law without the counterparty's consent—even where the debtor has no intention of assigning the agreement to a third party.