Since theIn re Crane decision was handed down by the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois in April 2012, all eyes in the mortgage banking industry have been focused on the appeal of the decision pending in the U.S. District Court, in the hopes that the widely criticized ruling of the Bankruptcy Court would be overruled.
The Fifth Circuit recently upheld a Texas Bankruptcy Court’s refusal to enforce non-debtor third party releases in the Mexican reorganization proceeding (known as a concursomercantil) of Mexican glass manufacturer Vitro SAB de CV. As a result of this decision, Wall Street and the capital markets will breathe a sigh of relief and will likely continue to extend credit to Mexican corporations with some confidence that guaranties will be enforced.
Bankruptcy courts generally do not enforce agreements by borrowers to waive their right to file bankruptcy, as a matter of public policy.
The Ohio General Assembly this week passed Amended Substitute House Bill 380, which requires the full disclosure of all asbestos bankruptcy trust claims made by plaintiffs with asbestos lawsuits in Ohio. The bill is headed to Governor John Kasich’s desk; he is expected to sign the bill.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, applying California law, has concluded that it should exercise jurisdiction under the federal Declaratory Judgment Act to determine the availability of coverage for a written demand and has held that the related coverage action should not be stayed in favor of potential future underlying litigation between the Federal Deposition Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the insureds because the outcome of the coverage litigation would not be dependent on resolution of disputed facts in such a future action. Progressiv
The IRS issued final regulations providing a limited exception to the anti-cutback rules under Code section 411(d)(6) for a plan sponsor that is a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding. The anti-cutback rules generally prohibit amendments to qualified retirement plans that reduce or eliminate accrued benefits, early retirement benefits, retirement-type subsidies or optional forms of benefits.
Last week the Supreme Court refused to decide whether, when a trademark licensor files for bankruptcy relief or is placed in involuntary bankruptcy by its creditors, the licensee can keep the rights to the trademark. The Fourth Circuit had said “no” in a 1985 case so reviled that Congress enacted corrective legislation, and 27 years later, the Seventh Circuit said “yes.” Despite this circuit split, the Supreme Court refused to weigh in on the issue. As a result, trademark licensees in New York (Second Circuit), California (Ninth Circuit), and the rest of the country have no certainty.
Earlier this year we reported on a Michigan trial court opinion, issued by Judge Edward R. Post of the Ottawa County Circuit Court in First Financial Bank, N.A. v. Scott T. Bosgraaf, et al., Case No. 11-02488 (click here to read), concluding that a court-appointed receiver has the power to sell mortgaged commercial real property free and clear of statutory mortgage foreclosure redemption rights.
In re Grubb & Ellis Co., 478 B.R. 622 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2012) –
Real estate agents who worked for Grubb & Ellis Co. prior to its bankruptcy sought allowance of their claims for commissions as an administrative expense. Grubb & Ellis addresses the question of whether a commission due for a sale that closes post-petition where the buyer was procured prepetition is entitled to treatment as an administrative expense.