The finality of securities transactions is critical not only to investors but also to global securities markets whose stability depends upon a very basic, but crucial, assumption: once a securities transaction is  complete, it cannot be undone. However, in the wake of the Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard Madoff, this fundamental assumption has been challenged and courts have had to determine whether and under what circumstances a transfer in connection with a securities transaction can be recovered by a bankruptcy trustee.

• Landlord/Tenant: lessor did not breach commercial lease by failing to complete construction by date certain where lease did not provide date by which property was to be ready for occupation – 326-330 St. Armands Circle, LLC v. GEE22, LLC, No. 2D12-2395 (Fla.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (the “Court”) issued an opinion limiting the ability of a “loan to own” secured creditor to credit bid at an auction for the sale of substantially all of the debtors’ assets.¹ The Court focused on the fact that the creditor’s conduct interfered with the sale process and was motivated by its desire to “own the Debtors’ business” rather than to have its d

Following recall notices for its ignition switches in February 2014, General Motors, LLC (“New GM”) has been hit with at least 50 class actions and two individual suits in not less than 20 federal and two state courts asserting claims against New GM for defective vehicles and parts sold by Motors Liquidation Company, formerly known as General Motors Corporation (“Old GM”).

After five years of litigation, on 3 April 2014, the US Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with Kerr-McGee Corporation and its parent company, Anadarko Petroleum (“Kerr-McGee”). This agreement requires Kerr-McGee to pay $5.15 billion in order to compensate for its environmental and tort liabilities of the past 85 years.

This agreement came after the 12 December 2013 judgment of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Tronox Inc., et al., v. Kerr-McGee Corp., et al. (In re Tronox Inc.), 503 B.R. 239 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2013).

Successor liability is often a concern for the acquirer when purchasing substantially all of a seller’s assets.  While this risk is well known, the circumstances under which an acquirer will be found liable under the theory of successor liability are less clear.  The recent decision in Call Center Techs., Inc. v Grand Adventures Tour & Travel Pub. Corp., 2014 U.S. Dist. Lexis 29057, 2014 WL 85934 (D. Conn. 2014), sheds helpful light on this issue by defining the continuity of enterprise theory of successor liability.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently ruled that a chapter 7 trustee may not avoid a post-petition transfer under either § 549 or § 362, where recovery of the transfer would not benefit the estate, even though the elements for avoidance under those sections are established by the evidence.

In re: Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, No. 12-12321 (MG) (S.D.N.Y. Bankr., April 10, 2014): As part of the bankruptcy proceedings involving Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York struck Dewey’s defenses to claims brought by its former employees under the federal and New York State WARN Acts. On May 10 and May 14, 2012, Dewey provided letters to its employees warning that their employment could be terminated due to the firm’s financial condition.

Bankruptcy practitioners are anxiously awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that will determine whether a party can waive its right to trial before an Article III tribunal.

Reversing a decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that severance payments to employees who were involuntarily terminated as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy were taxable wages subject to Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes. The decision disappointed many who had hoped the court would uphold the earlier appeals court ruling that certain severance payments should be exempt from FICA taxes as supplemental unemployment compensation benefits (SUBs).