In Industrial Enterprises of America v. Burtis (In re Pitt Penn Holding Co., Inc.), 2012 WL 204095 (Bankr. D. Del. Jan.

AFA Investment Inc. and its affiliates, including AFA Foods, American Foodservice Corporation, United Food Group, LLC, and American Fresh Foods (together "AFA"), one of the largest ground beef processors in the United States, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Introduction

Secured lenders have had long-held expectations of certain protections in the event the borrower files for bankruptcy.

Recently, in In re Longview Aluminum, LLC,1 the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that members of a limited liability company (“LLC”) are insiders for preferential transfer purposes under the Bankruptcy Code.

Commercial, and sometimes residential, construction requires a contractor to obtain a surety bond to guarantee performance leading to the successful conclusion of a project. Upon that occasion, a general contractor will obtain a surety bond from an authorized underwriter.

T he LBIE Client Money Judgment on the appeal from the Court of Appeal has been eagerly awaited by creditors and secondary claims trading market participants in order to give clarity to the funds available for the client money pool and to determine which clients will have the benefit of those funds.

The decision has implications for creditors of MF Global UK Limited and all clients of UK financial firms.

BACKGROUND

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the "District Court") on March 29, 2012 held that a bankruptcy court sale order issued under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code ("Section 363") could not extinguish state law successor liability personal injury claims brought against the purchaser by third parties injured after the close of the bankruptcy case, but whose injuries arose out of conduct of the debtor prior to its bankruptcy. Morgan Olson LLC v. Frederico (In re Grumman Olson Industries, Inc.), 2012 WL 1038672 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).

U.S.

In December 2010, the Trustee obtained a $5 billion settlement for BLMIS customers with allowed claims.  Plaintiffs in putative class actions challenged the settlement and the Bankruptcy Court’s decision holding that the class actions violated the automatic stay of the Bankruptcy Code and were otherwise enjoined.  Yesterday, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld the settlement and the Bankruptcy Court’s decision finding that the class actions were duplicative or derivative of the Trustee’s action and thus were void ab initio un