In Hosking v. TPG Capital Management LP (In re Hellas Telecommunications (Luxemburg) II SCA), 2015 BL 21823 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Jan. 29, 2015), the U.S. bankruptcy court presiding over the chapter 15 case of London-based Hellas Telecommunications (Luxemburg) II SCA ("Hellas II"), which formerly owned one of the largest mobile phone operators in Greece, dismissed fraudulent transfer claims asserted by Hellas II's U.K. liquidators against private equity giants TPG Capital Management LP and Apax Partners LLP as well as various affiliates (collectively, the "defendants").

Bankruptcy courts appear to be increasingly sending state law claims to the district court for final review, as illustrated by a recent decision from the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Texas. In Gomez v. Lone Star National Bank (In re Saenz), Jose Gomez financed his acquisition of a restaurant from Humberto Saenz. When the restaurant failed, Gomez sued his lender and Saenz on various claims, but Saenz filed for bankruptcy protection. The lender then moved for summary judgment against Gomez’s claims for common-law fraud and negligence.

Rev Op Group v. ML Manager LLC (In re Mortgages Ltd.), 771 F.3d 623 (9th Cir. 2014) –

Under the terms of a debtor’s confirmed plan of reorganization, an entity (ML Manager) was designated to manage the debtor’s portfolio of mortgage loans.  The issue in this appeal was whether ML Manager was authorized to act as an agent for pass-through investors in selling loans over the objection of some of the investors.

On Wednesday, Congress announced the passage of the Bankruptcy Sale Incentive and Senior Support Act (“BSISSA”), which will make effective for those over age 65 a 15% discount on all 363 sales consummated on Tuesdays before 4:00 pm. House Speaker John Boehner made the announcement from a Golden Corral outside Scottsdale, Arizona. “We are pleased that BSISSA was supported by those on both sides of the aisle,” Boehner said.

On March 25, LightSquared Inc. obtained U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval to exit Chapter 11 protection pursuant to a restructuring plan that will pay its largest creditor, Charles Ergen, roughly $1.5b in cash to account for full repayment, with interest, of Ergen’s holdings of LightSquared debt.

Bankruptcy can be a lifeline to those individuals trying to get out from under a mountain of debt, but it becomes a point of frustration for the companies forced to move on without collecting the money they were owed.

 In the previous blog post, we discussed the ongoing bankruptcy litigation between Crystal Cathedral Ministries and its founder Dr. Robert Schuller over the rejection of his Transition Agreement.  That contract purported to spell out the relationship between the parties as Dr.

Anyone investing equity in an enterprise, whether creating a start-up or purchasing an established company, is a natural optimist.  The hope is that the business will continue to perform well and yield its owners substantial profits year-after-year (and then maybe a hefty return upon exit).  But, as those of us in restructuring know, not every company enjoys positive returns all the time.  Businesses go through down cycles for different reasons – whether it be the overall economic climate (think 2008), issues specific to a particular industry (think dropping oil prices), a gr

The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit recently held that a creditor holding a perfected security interest in accounts and payment intangibles did not have a perfected security interest in the proceeds of an insurance settlement. In re Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Ry., Ltd., 521 B.R. 703 (B.A.P. 1st Cir. 2014). In this case, the creditor had extended a line of credit to the borrower, which it secured by a security interest in all the borrower’s accounts and payment intangibles. The creditor filed a financing statement to perfect its security interest.

Debt-for-equity swaps and debt exchanges are common features of out-of-court as well as chapter 11 restructurings. For publicly traded securities, out-of-court restructurings in the form of "exchange offers" or "tender offers" are, absent an exemption, subject to the rules governing an issuance of new securities under the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 (the "SEA") as well as the SEA tender offer rules.