Judge Drain’s recent bench rulings in Momentive Performance Materials in 2014 generated a great deal of controversy in the distressed debt world.  Distressed investors, lenders, and commentators have questioned whether the Momentive rulings will lead to an industry trend in which debtors seek to cram down their secured lenders to take advantage of the ability to do so at below market interest rates.  

This is a good ‘war story’ about getting paid.  The client was (and is) based in the European Union, and they sold product to the US market.  Their products were (and are) high-value, about $100,000+ per item. Not stuff I’d be able to buy, but I digress. The company insisted–strongly–on using their ‘home country’ terms and conditions of sale in the US, without thoroughly reviewing whether there was anything in the home country law that could adversely affect them in the US. We were not involved at that point.

The Supreme Court is currently considering the case of Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Shariff.

The Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles for many years now has handled a busy asbestos docket with numerous cases proceeding through trial and many more resolved before a verdict is rendered.  The court handles cases brought by many prominent plaintiff firms with national presences.  It is therefore interesting to see this court follow the lead of other courts and various legislative bodies in preparing to mandate greater transparency regarding claims made to bankruptcy trusts.

Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Stern v.

The Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Bulletin provides an analysis of legal issues, recent court decisions and significant changes in bankruptcy and creditors' rights law. This edition highlights two key bankruptcy issues related to general civil litigation.

What Litigators Need to Know About Bankruptcy: The Automatic Stay - First in a Series

Rock Ohio Ventures redeemed a 20 percent minority interest held by one of Caesars subsidiaries and now owns 100 percent of Horseshoe Cleveland, Horseshoe Cincinnati, and Thistledown racino. According to Rock Ohio’s CEO, nothing changes for customers. Caesars will still manage the facilities. The properties will still be part of Caesars Total Rewards program and it will be business as usual.

Caesars Entertainment Operating Company filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code last month. The Ohio properties were not part of the filing.

Sales of assets pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code or pursuant to a plan of reorganization provide a number of benefits to a purchaser, but they also present a number of potential impediments, particularly to purchasers who are not familiar with the bankruptcy sale process.

Undersecured creditors may breathe a little easier.  In a recent decision, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied the debtors’ request to use an undersecured creditor’s cash collateral, in the form of postpetition rents, to pay estate professional fees, holding that the undersecured creditor was not adequately protected even though the value of its collateral was stable and possibly increasing.  

This case is the product of yet another dispute in the extensive, multi-billion dollar fraud perpetrated by Tom Petters. In 2005, as the sole board member of Petters Group Worldwide, LLC (“PGW”), Petters directed the acquisition of Polaroid, which operated independently and legitimately as a going concern. In late 2007 and early 2008, Polaroid and other Petters companies began experiencing financial difficulties. In January 2008, PGW approached Ritchie about a loan and the next day, Ritchie loaned $31 million to PGW to pay debts of Polaroid and PGW.