American business experienced a near record number of mergers and acquisitions in 2016, and this trend is likely to continue in 2017. Such corporate transactions raise a number of legal issues, including employment issues.
(6th Cir. B.A.P. Mar. 9, 2017)
(Bankr. W.D. Ky. Mar. 9, 2017)
The bankruptcy court grants summary judgment in favor of the creditor in this adversary proceeding in which the debtor alleged violations of the automatic stay and claims under the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act. The court holds that the creditor bank’s restriction of the debtor’s electronic privileges with respect to her accounts did not violate the automatic stay. Opinion below.
Judge: Stout
Attorney for Debtor: Ross Benjamin Neuhauser
Attorney for Creditor: Christopher M. Hill
Last month I posted a blog indicating that Gander Mountain was possibly preparing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The rumors were true.
(Bankr. E.D. Ky. Mar. 8, 2017)
The bankruptcy court grants the creditor’s motion to dismiss the debtor’s counterclaim in this nondischargeability action. The debtor failed to state a claim for conversion under Kentucky law. The debtor also failed to state claims under Kentucky’s statutes governing corporations, derivative actions, and shareholder claims. Opinion below.
Judge: Wise
Attorney for Debtor: Stuart P. Brown
Attorney for Creditor: Michael L. Baker
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (the District Court) recently issued an opinion in the Paul Sagendorph bankruptcy case reversing the Bankruptcy Court's holding that a debtor can force a secured creditor to take title to its collateral in complete satisfaction of the creditor's secured claim.1 In reversing the decision of the Bankruptcy Court, the District Court held that the plain language of Sections 1322(b)(9) and 1325(a)(5)(C)2 does not empower a debtor to force a secured creditor to accept title to its collateral over that creditor's objection.3
It is commonly understood that, upon commencement of a bankruptcy case, section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code operates as an automatic statutory injunction against a wide variety of creditor actions and activities.
The Southern District of New York upheld a very closely watched decision of recent years affecting bankruptcies in the oil and gas industry.
A defendant bank (“Bank”) in a fraudulent transfer suit “could not prove” its “good faith” defense for loan repayments it received after its “investigator discovered [the] fraudulent past” of the Ponzi scheme debtor’s principal but “failed to disclose that past to [the Bank’s account] manager,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Feb. 8, 2017. Meoli v. Huntington Nat’l Bank, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 2248, *28 (6th Cir. Feb. 8, 2017).
In Nortel Networks, Inc., Case No. 09-0138(KG), Doc. No. 18001 (March 8, 2017), the Delaware Bankruptcy Court ruled on the objections of two noteholders who asked the Court to disallow more than $4.4 million of the $8.1 million of the fees sought by counsel to their indenture trustee. Given the detailed rulings announced by the Court, the decision may establish a number of guidelines by which future fee requests made by an indenture trustee’s professionals will be measured.
Matters Handled by the UCC