The United States District Court in Delaware recently issued a welcome decision for private equity firms whose portfolio companies run afoul of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the “WARN Act”). In In re Jevic Holding Corp. (PDF), the Court affirmed a bankruptcy court decision holding that Sun Capital Partners (“Sun”) was not liable for the WARN Act violations of Jevic Transportation Inc.
Is electricity goods or services? That seemingly simple yet confounding question is illustrated by three recent bankruptcy cases (all of which consider whether an electricity provider is entitled to an administrative expense priority under Bankruptcy Code Section 503(b)(9) for “the value of goods received by the debtor” in the ordinary course within 20 days prior to the automatic stay):
In its October 1, 2014 decision in Quadrant Structured Prods. Co. v. Vertin, et al., C.A. No. 6990, the Delaware Court of Chancery applied the protections afforded under the business judgment rule to investment strategies adopted by directors of insolvent corporations. The court held that the business judgment rule barred derivative claims asserted against directors by a creditor who had alleged that the company’s high-risk investment strategy was implemented for the purpose of benefitting the corporation’s controller at the creditors’ expense.
Outside of section 506(b) of the Bankruptcy Code, which affords secured creditors a right to enforce their contractual entitlements to fees, the Bankruptcy Code does not expressly give creditors a right to seek reimbursement of fees incurred during a debtor’s bankruptcy.
A junior mortgagee sought to subordinate the senior mortgage loan based on an argument that modification of the senior loan impaired the junior mortgagee’s rights.
In In re MPM Silicones, LLC, Case No. 14-22503 (RDD) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2014) (Momentive), the court dismissed a senior lien creditors’ suit alleging that the junior lien creditors breached an intercreditor agreement (ICA) with respect to shared collateral by taking and supporting certain actions adverse to the senior lien creditors.
BACKGROUND
In re Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc., 513 B.R. 624 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2014)
A purchaser of residential mortgage-backed securities filed proofs of claim based on alleged misrepresentations by the debtors in offering materials distributed in connection with sale of the securities. The debtors objected and sought to subordinate the claims as claims arising from securities “of” the debtors.
Although the bankruptcy world has long been acquainted with Ponzi schemes, the courts have not clearly answered the question of how to distribute investors’ funds after a scheme fails – especially in the scenario where certain investors profit. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah recently weighed in on the issue in
Skyrocketing college tuition costs are leaving consumers with greater student-loan debt, while bankruptcy code gives little protection to those struggling under it. Billionaire investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban says “rising student loan debt is crushing the U.S. economy, preventing recent graduates from buying the things that normally stimulate the economy,” according to a recent Consumer Affairs article.
After an oversecured creditor obtained relief from the automatic stay and foreclosed on some property, the bankruptcy court asserted jurisdiction over disposition of the sale proceeds and denied in part the creditor’s claim for fees. The district court reversed and the case was appealed to the 5thCircuit.