Over the past several weeks, several additional Lehman Brothers affiliate entities filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. For procedural purposes, these bankruptcy petitions will be jointly administered along with the petition filed by Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., the lead debtor. These entities include:
Bankruptcy courts appear to be increasingly sending state law claims to the district court for final review, as illustrated by a recent decision from the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Texas. In Gomez v. Lone Star National Bank (In re Saenz), Jose Gomez financed his acquisition of a restaurant from Humberto Saenz. When the restaurant failed, Gomez sued his lender and Saenz on various claims, but Saenz filed for bankruptcy protection. The lender then moved for summary judgment against Gomez’s claims for common-law fraud and negligence.
In Burcam Capital II, LLC v. Bank of America, N.A., et al, No. 13-00063-8 (Bankr. E.D. N.C. Oct. 1, 2013), an adversary proceeding filed in In re: Burcam Capital II, LLC, No. 12-04729-8, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the court held that the Debtor Plaintiff alleged sufficient facts to support a claim that its lender and the special servicer of the loan breached their duty to act in good faith and to deal fairly.
CIT Group Inc.
The Eleventh Circuit’s recent opinion in SE Property Holdings, LLC v. Seaside Engineering & Surveying, Inc. (In reSeaside Engineering & Surveying, Inc.), No. 14-11590 (11th Cir. March 12, 2015), clarifies the circuit’s stance on the authority of bankruptcy courts to issue nonconsensual, non-debtor releases or bar orders and the circumstances under which such bar orders might be appropriate. In addition, the court gave a broad reading of what it means for a plan to have been proposed in good faith.
In In re Charles A. Grogan and Sarah A. Grogan, No. 11-65409 (Bankr. D. Ore. Sept. 10, 2013), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon confirmed the Debtors’ Third Amended Chapter 11 plan. The Debtors are Christmas tree farmers and their plan proposed to liquidate the majority of their Christmas tree farm and sell six major parcels of land. While the two main secured creditors were deemed to have rejected the plan, the court found the cram down standards of section 1129(b)(2)(A) were applicable.
On Friday, the new General Motors (GM) began operations with a new corporate structure, and is now primarily owned by the governments of the U.S., Canada and Ontario, along with the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust. The result of an asset sale approved by the bankruptcy court on July 5, the new GM will narrow its focus to four core brands (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC). Also, the number of U.S.
The Eleventh Circuit’s recent opinion in SE Property Holdings, LLC v. Seaside Engineering & Surveying, Inc. (In re Seaside Engineering & Surveying, Inc.), No. 14-11590 (11th Cir. March 12, 2015), clarifies the circuit’s stance on the authority of bankruptcy courts to issue nonconsensual, non-debtor releases or bar orders and the circumstances under which such bar orders might be appropriate. In addition, the court gave a broad reading of what it means for a plan to have been proposed in good faith.
In Virginia Broadband, LLC (Bankr. W.D. Va. Sept. 9, 2013), the unsecured creditors committee moved to dismiss an LLC’s chapter 11 bankruptcy case alleging a flaw in the authorization of the LLC’s bankruptcy filing caused by an authorizing member’s individual bankruptcy filing. Specifically, the committee alleged that when the authorizing member filed his individual bankruptcy case, Virginia law divested him of his non-economic (voting) rights in the LLC.