On August 8, 2013, the Executive Life Insurance Company of New York (ELNY) Restructuring Agreement closed, following the denial of the last relevant appeal of the trial court’s Order of Liquidation and Approval of the Restructuring Agreement in May 2013.
The Ninth Circuit recently held that an employer who failed to pay $170,045 in withdrawal liability could discharge the liability in bankruptcy. Carpenters Pension Trust Fund v. Moxley, No. 11-16133 (9th Cir. August 20, 2013). In so ruling, the Court rejected the Fund’s argument that unpaid withdrawal liability constituted a plan asset.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recently held that an ad hoc committee of bondholders, holding $162.5 in senior secured bonds, lacked standing to participate in the issuer-debtor’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. In re American Roads LLC, 2013 WL 4601006 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued proposed amendments on June 26, 2013, to provide guidance about management's responsibilities in evaluating a company's going concern uncertainties in addition to the timing and content of related footnote disclosures. Even before a company’s liquidation is imminent, there may be uncertainties about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern and, therefore, about its going concern presumption (going concern uncertainties). Currently, there is no guidance in the U.S.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently shut down litigation filed by plaintiffs who had represented to a Bankruptcy Court that their claims were worth far less than they were attempting to recover in a lawsuit filed in federal district court. Queen v. TA Operating, LLC, --- F.3d ----, 2013 WL 4419322, (10th Cir. Aug. 20, 2013).
Applying Pennsylvania law, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has held that an insured’s failure to notify its insurer of a potential claim violated the notice provision of the policy. Pelagatti v. Minn. Lawyers Mut. Ins. Co., 2013 WL 3213796 (E.D. Pa. June 25, 2013). In so doing, the court held that the insurer was not required to show that it was prejudiced by the late notice and that whether the insured’s failure to provide timely notice negates coverage is determined under a “hybrid subjective/objective test.”
The Bottom Line
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld a bankruptcy court’s decision enforcing indenture language providing for the automatic acceleration, without make-whole premium, of secured American Airline, Inc.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in Bullock v. BankChampaign, N.A., has arguably made it harder for damaged beneficiaries to prevent a negligent or self-interested trustee from filing a bankruptcy case and escaping debts owed to the trust’s beneficiaries. Individual debtors file bankruptcy cases to obtain a discharge of their debts.
Note: This post is part of a four-part series on the Credit Report Blog. Click here to view all related posts.