USDC S.D. California, February 10, 2012

Click here for a copy of the full decision.

Pennsylvania Bar Institute Course

The healthcare industry was ailing in 2011. There were 88 publicly traded companies that filed for Chapter 11 relief in 2011, and of that amount, approximately 11 companies were in the healthcare industry. The healthcare industry led the group, with telecommunications and energy tied for second place (nine filings in each industry). The healthcare industry has faced many challenges over the years. For starters, hospitals are not always paid for their services.

In the recent matter Wilmington Trust Natl. Assn. v. Vitro Automotriz, Index No. 652303/11 (N.Y. Sup. Dec. 5, 2011), Justice Bernard J. Fried of the Commercial Division addressed the obligations of guarantors of indentured notes. Regardless that the issuer of the notes had declared bankruptcy in Mexico, the guarantors, none of whom were co-debtors, were not relieved of their obligations under the notes.

Senator Charles Grassley has sent a letter to the Justice Department asking how Justice has enforced “key employee retention plans” (KERPs) under 503(c) of the U.S.

In an earlier discussion on preference claims, we highlighted an increasingly common form of litigation in the bankruptcy courts that arises out of commercial bankruptcies: the preference action. We examined the policy underlying preference actions and the elements that give rise to a prima facie preference claim. We will now discuss some potential defenses to a preference claim and how a trade creditor can prepare itself to respond to a preference claim.

Turnaround Management Association

The United States is about to enter year five of what has been aptly deemed “The Great Recession.” Bankruptcy advising is a cyclical business, and after a dearth of work in the heady financial years of the mid-2000s, expectations were high that in the downturn bankruptcy work would be abundant and steady.

CENTRAL STATES, SOUTHEAST AND SOUTHWEST AREAS PENSION FUND v. SCOFBP (December 27, 2011)

Taking the lead from its recent decision in In re River Road Hotel Partners,¹ in In re River East Plaza, LLC,² the Seventh Circuit held that a debtor cannot avoid the lien retention prong of Section 1129(b)(2)(A)(i)³ by transferring an undersecured creditor’s lien to substitute collateral as indubitable equivalence pursuant to Section 1129(b)(2)(A)(iii).

IN RE: ORTIZ (December 30, 2011)