In a May 2, 2017 decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided the fate of a stream of rental payments from the bankrupt owner of a residential complex. (In re: Town Center Flats, LLC, No. 16-1812, May 2, 2017, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals) The case resembled a similar one, far more controversial and with a different result, from 1993. (Octagon Gas Systems, Inc. v. Rimmer, 995 F.2nd 948, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, 1993) The Octagon Gas case roiled the factoring and receivables purchasing industry.
Bond indentures and loan agreements often include make-whole provisions to provide protection to lenders and investors in the event of debt repayment prior to maturity. Make-whole provisions work to compensate the investor/lender for any future interest lost when the issuer/borrower repays the note prior to a specific date.
Following the commencement of an involuntary proceeding against the company by certain creditors in Illinois, Central Grocers, Inc., a retail food cooperative and distributor founded in 1917, and 11 of its affiliates, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 17-10993 BLS). The petition lists between $100 million and $500 million in both assets and liabilities.
Practitioners Beware: When a client located in the state in which you practice law is served with a subpoena from a federal court located in another state, only the relevant federal court in your state (whether district or bankruptcy court) can adjudicate a motion to quash or otherwise modify the subpoena. A recent decision from a Colorado bankruptcy court, In re SBN Fog Cap II, LLC, 562 B.R. 771 (Bankr. D. Colo.
On May 2, 2017, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified whether a bankruptcy debtor retains any property rights in rents after defaulting on a loan that includes an assignment of rents.
David Conaway [email protected] 704.945.2149 Manufacturing Customers Vendors Supply Chain Insolvency Litigation Commercial and Financial Contracts Cross-Border
BACKGROUND
Searchmetrics, Inc., a search engine optimization services company based in San Mateo, CA, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 17-11032-CSS). The Petition estimates Searchmetric’s assets between $1–$10 million and its liabilities between $10-$50 million.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a mortgage loan borrower’s federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and related state law claims because the defendant mortgagee was not a “debt collector” as defined by the FDCPA.
In so ruling, the Court also rejected the borrower’s allegations that the monthly statements the mortgagee sent to the borrower after her bankruptcy discharge were impermissible implied assertions of a right to collect against her personally.
Last week, the DOJ sent a letter to trustees who handle consumer bankruptcy reminding them that marijuana is a federally illegal drug and warned them not to handle any money from the sale of marijuana-related property.
On April 28, 2017, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill No. 496, which limits the defense and indemnity obligations of design professionals who enter into contracts to perform design professional services on or after January 1, 2018. Existing law limits design professional defense and indemnity obligations for contracts entered into with public agencies to claims that arise out of, pertain to, or relate to the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct of the design professional.