The last several years have seen bankruptcy filings from prominent retail chains such as Borders, Circuit City, Blockbuster, Movie Gallery and Ritz Camera. Many of these cases have resulted in liquidation. For commercial landlords, retail bankruptcy cases present a number of potentially damaging issues, including nonpayment of rent, assignment of the lease to an unworthy tenant, vacant space in an otherwise popular location and going-out-of business sales.
On March 9, 2012, Susheel Kirpalani, the court-appointed examiner for Dynegy Holdings, LLC (Dynegy), concluded that the debtor's transfer of certain assets to its parent company, Dynegy, Inc., prior to its bankruptcy filing may be recoverable as a fraudulent transfer. Kirpalani further determined that Dynegy's board of directors breached its fiduciary duty in approving the asset transfer. Dynegy, Inc. vigorously disputes the examiner's findings.
Introduction
Earlier this month, we reported to you on the bipartisan legislation introduced in the Michigan Legislature known as the Nonrecourse Mortgage Loan Act (the “Act”).
The Act has been approved overwhelmingly by both chambers of the Michigan Legislature and will be presented to the Governor’s office for signature. It is expected that the legislation will be signed into law within the next several business days.
On March 20, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) proposed a rule (Proposed Rule), with request for comments, that implements section 210(c)(16) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act or the Act) , which permits the FDIC, as receiver for a financial company whose failure would pose a significant risk to the financial stability of the United States (a covered financial company), to enforce contracts of subsidiaries or affiliates of the covered financial company despite contract clauses that purport to terminate, accelerate, or provide
The Delaware Chancery Court recently found that exigent circumstances necessitated the appointment of a receiver for an insolvent company under section 291 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL). The insolvent company at issue had $1.9 million in tax debt and was at risk of losing a favorable settlement opportunity with the IRS due to an impasse between voting and non-voting shareholders.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana has held that an insured versus insured exclusion does not apply to preclude coverage for claims brought by a duly appointed bankruptcy trustee against an insolvent corporation’s directors and officers. Central Louisiana Grain Cooperative v. Vanderlick, 2012 WL 293173 (Bankr. W.D. La. Jan. 31, 2012).
Introduction
On March 5, 2012, Pemco World Air Services ("Pemco"), filed chapter 11 petitions for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. According to the Declaration of Pemco's CFO (the "Declaration"), Pemco describes itself as "an industry leader in maintenance, repair and overhaul for wide and narrow body aircraft and regional jets from around the world." Decl. at *2. In addition to maintenance and repair, Pemco also is one of the leading providers of narrow body aircraft cargo conversions. Id.
On March 21st, Blue Springs Ford ("Blue Springs") filed a chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Based in Blue Springs, Missouri, Blue Springs has operated as an authorized Ford dealership since 1978. Like most dealerships, the company sells and services Ford vehicles and provides general maintenance and repair services. See the Declaration of Blues Springs' President in Support of First Day Motions (the "Declaration" or "Decl.") at *2.
In re: Qimonda AG, No. 09-14766-SM, Bankr. E.D. Va. (Oct. 28, 2011) [click for opinion]