Hoku, a publicly-owned Delaware corporation, filed for bankruptcy with just $8 million in assets compared to a relatively staggering $1.3 billion in liabilities, much of which was funded debt. In light of this significant insolvency, Hoku’s chapter 7 trustee brought various breach of fiduciary claims against Hoku’s board of directors, including one akin to a claim for “deepening insolvency.” As the case of Hopkins v.

In Huff Energy Fund v. Gershen, C.A. No. 11116-VCS, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed a stockholder’s challenge to the board of director’s decision to dissolve the company following an asset sale. The Court ruled that the enhanced scrutiny standards of Revlon and Unocal do not supplant the business judgment rule in the context of a company’s decision to dissolve.

(Bankr. E.D. Ky. Nov. 1, 2016)

The bankruptcy court grants the debtor’s motion for summary judgment in this 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6) nondishargeability action. The plaintiff alleged the debtor willfully and maliciously injured the plaintiff, but failed to offer any evidence that would create a material factual dispute as to the debtor’s intent with respect to actions that gave rise to a prepetition judgment against the debtor. The court finds summary judgment in favor of the debtor is appropriate. Opinion below.

Judge: Wise

TerraForm Power Settles Derivative Lawsuit by Increasing Independence 
 

On August 2, 2016, the IRS issued proposed regulations taking aim at valuation discounts with respect to closely-held interests for gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax purposes. If adopted, even with clarifying language, the proposed regulations will impact certain estate planning strategies.

Missouri’s new receivership statute became effective on August 28, 2016. The new statute, called the Missouri Commercial Receivership Act (or “MCRA”) and codified at Chapter 515 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, provides a much more robust receivership remedy than prior law.

A corporate manager with control over construction funds, facing personal liability under the NY trust fund law to an unpaid sub and the homeowner for improper diversion of funds, cannot discharge that liability in a personal bankruptcy. Even when the original contracts were with a corporate entity. That is the lesson from the federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan.

What is a receivership?

Receivership is a legal term that usually connotes something is amiss, but most everyday people rarely come across it directly and typically don’t need to know what a receiver really is and what a receiver does. But, as the recent Hanjin situation demonstrated, receivership can directly impact multiple stages of the shipping, hauling, transport, distribution and warehousing of commercial goods at multiple levels.

In the decision of Motors Liquidation Co. Avoidance Action Trust v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (In re Motors Liquidation Co.), 552 B.R. 253 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2016), the SDNY bankruptcy court held that prepetition interest payments on a term loan did not qualify as “settlement payments” under Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code.

(Bankr. W.D. Ky. Oct. 28, 2016)

The bankruptcy court enters an order holding in abeyance the motion to dismiss the Chapter 13 case. The court also denies confirmation of the proposed plan but holds the case open for further filings. The required maintenance payment could not be satisfied by the monthly payments in the proposed plan. Opinion below.

Judge: Lloyd

Attorneys for Debtor: Naber & Joyner, J. Gregory Joyner

Attorney for Creditor: Joseph S. Elder II