In the Chapter 11 case of Crumbs Bake Shop, Inc. (the “Debtor”), a New Jersey bankruptcy court recently issued an opinion1 extending to trademark licensees certain protections already expressly available to other intellectual property licensees under Bankruptcy Code § 365(n).2 In addition, the Court held that the Debtor could not sell its assets free and clear of such protections and found that any future royalties under the license agreement belonged to the Debtor’s estate.3

United States Bankruptcy Courts, particularly in New York and Delaware, are already a destination for multinational corporate bankruptcy filings, but a recent study co-authored by Stephen J. Lubben, a Seton Hall Law School professor and frequent contributor to The New York Times’ DealBook blog, suggests that the current volume of foreign debtors filing in the U.S.

Almost every significant bankruptcy case eventually involves preference demands and litigation. Around this abundance of litigation developed a significant body of jurisprudence, to which Judge Sean Lane of the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court recently added in clarifying the ordinary course of business preference defense.

Are a debtor’s net operating losses considered property of the estate when they are reported on a consolidated tax return by a non-debtor parent? We previously wrote about this issue here.

A recent decision from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas touched on two popular bankruptcy topics: notice requirements and the effect of a bankruptcy discharge on claims.

When evaluating a debtor’s bankruptcy or restructuring options, determining how to increase or preserve the debtor’s liquidity is crucial to the analysis. Well-advised debtors with significant labor liabilities will need to explore whether attaining cost savings through rejection of their collective bargaining agreements is a viable alternative.

The question “Where’s the Beef?” is typically associated with the famous Wendy’s television commercial from 1984 and its lovable actress, Clara Peller. But the recent decision in the chapter 7 case of a national meat processor had an avoidance action defendant asking, “Where’s the Beef … (with me)?” after the debtor’s chapter 7 trustee attempted to avoid over $5 million in transfers made by the debtor to the defendant prepetition.

In recent years, second lien financings have increased in popularity. Senior creditors rely on intercreditor agreements to protect their interests by limiting the rights that junior lien holders would otherwise enjoy as secured creditors through either lien subordination, payment subordination, or both. Lien subordination requires the turnover to first lien creditors of proceeds of shared collateral until the first lien holders are paid in full.

Although the bankruptcy world has long been acquainted with Ponzi schemes, the courts have not clearly answered the question of how to distribute investors’ funds after a scheme fails – especially in the scenario where certain investors profit. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah recently weighed in on the issue in 

In the well-known children’s story book written by P.D. Eastman and edited by beloved Dr. Seuss, a baby bird embarks on a quest to find his mother, asking a hen, a dog, and a kitten, among others, the famous question, “Are you my mother?”   If Dr. Seuss had penned the recently-decided case of Thielman v. MF Global Holdings, Ltd.