Recently, the Chapter 7 Trustee (the "Trustee") in the HRP Myrtle Beach Holdings bankruptcy, filed several avoidance actions pursuant to sections 547, 548, and 549 of the Bankruptcy Code. The avoidance actions, filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, are before the Honorable Kevin J. Carey, Chief Judge of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court.
In 1984 a Third Circuit panel decided that the automatic stay did not apply to a right to payment which arose under applicable state law after a bankruptcy petition was filed. Avellino & Bienes v. M. Frenville Co., 744 F.2d 332 (3d Cir. 1984). The Third Circuit tradition is that the holding of a panel in a precedential opinion is binding on subsequent panels. Until this year Frenville remained good Third Circuit law notwithstanding universal rejection by other circuits.
The next few years will see the “redevelopment” of the law in two critical areas involving bank failures where the Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora-tion (“FDIC”) is appointed receiver: (i) the relative rights and claims of creditors of a bank or savings and loan holding company, including the FDIC; and (ii) D&O and professional liability. Significant decisions are be-ginning to be issued with regard to the former.
On September 22, 2010, Bryan Marsal, co-chief executive officer of the restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal ("A&M") and chief restructuring officer for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., presented A&M's State of the Estate report regarding the chapter 11 cases of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and its affiliated debtors (collectively, the "Debtors"). In his overview of the State of the Estate report, Marsal outlined the timeline for plan confirmation, the claims reconciliation process, and recovery analysis:
Plan Confirmation Timeline
On July 13, 2010, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously held that auto-parts supplier Visteon Corporation could not terminate health and life insurance benefits for approximately 2,100 retirees during its chapter 11 bankruptcy unless Visteon followed the specific requirements laid out in section 1114 of the Bankruptcy Code, even if Visteon would have had the unilateral right to terminate these benefits outside bankruptcy.1 The Court found that a debtor may terminate any retiree benefits in bankruptcy only if,inter alia, the debt
Construction disputes often boil down to a single issue: “show me the money.” Experienced contractors, owners and financiers understand the risks that come with unfinished projects and unpaid work; best practices have long included tracking first visible work, last day of work, and other issues critical to perfecting and enforcing mechanic’s lien rights. But a bankruptcy or a potential bankruptcy of a project participant introduces a new set of challenges and risks to construction projects.
Given the overarching Madoff Ponzi scheme as well as other mini-Madoff schemes that surfaced in its wake, many have been following issues arising from the ability of a trustee to claw back transfers (either as preferential or as fraudulent transfers) from investors who redeemed their interests in a private investment fund or managed account that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. The law generally provides that an investor’s principal investment is protected so long as it is received in good faith and for value.
Suppose a retailer declares bankruptcy. Several of its leases are sold off to another retail chain, which then remodels the stores, stocks them with its own merchandise, and opens them under its own name. If this retailer hires some of the bankrupt company's employees, are those employees new hires under the FMLA, or might they have the right to take FMLA leave immediately, without waiting 12 months or working 1250 hours for the new company?
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on an issue of first impression inGreen Tree Servicing, LLC v. Brough, 930 N.E.2d 1238 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) that arbitration provisions in consumer loan agreements survive discharge in the borrower’s bankruptcy proceeding.
A company facing a rash of tort lawsuits may try to use a dormant subsidiary’s bankruptcy as a tool to limit its exposure. That’s what Pfizer tried to do, and a New York bankruptcy judge sent them packing. This case is a warning to corporate parents that courts will not allow them to manipulate the process to use the bankruptcies of subsidiaries to further their own agendas. If you’re a creditor you can use this case as ammunition in reorganization disputes to show bad faith. Read on for a quick summary of what happened in the Pfizer case, and what you can learn from it.