The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida has reversed a bankruptcy court order that had required a group of lenders (“Transeastern Lenders”) to disgorge, as a fraudulent transfer, approximately $421 million paid to them by a joint venture partner (“TOUSA”) in satisfaction of their legitimate, uncontested loans to the joint venture that TOUSA had guaranteed. Together with pre-judgment interest, the total amount to be paid by the Transeastern Lenders was in excess of $480 million.
A recent opinion by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York affirms a 2010 ruling by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy court, which rendered certain netting and setoff provisions unenforceable in bankruptcy. The core holding – that a counterparty cannot offset pre-petition and post-petition amounts – should come as no surprise to market participants.
While there has not been much good news for the mortgage banking industry coming out of bankruptcy courts in years, a recent opinion issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit provides not just good news, but very good news for mortgage lenders. The Fifth Circuit's opinion in Wilborn v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (In re Wilborn), 609 F.3d 748 (5th Cir.
In a thorough appellate decision, a United States District Court in Florida has reversed the portion of a Bankruptcy Court’s determination that the repayment of over $400 million in loans was a fraudulent transfer. As discussed in more detail below, the decision is significant in the context of complex, multiple entity structures in determining (i) which affiliated entity (or unpaid creditors of that entity) can recover a transfer and (ii) what constitutes reasonably equivalent value for the transfer.
A recent decision from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (the "Court") [1] reversed a controversial 2009 decision from the Bankruptcy Court in the litigation styled Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of TOUSA, Inc. v. Citicorp North America, Inc.
In a 113-page decision (click here to read decision) that is sure to be applauded by lenders and bond traders alike, Judge Alan S. Gold of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, in overturning a Bankruptcy Court opinion that has caused lenders much concern, has issued a stern ruling that provides a bulwark against efforts by creditors and trustees in bankruptcy to expand the scope of the fraudulent conveyance provisions under the Bankruptcy Code.
The United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals (the "Third Circuit") issued an opinion on February 16, 2011 in the American Home Mortgage chapter 11 proceeding that upheld a determination by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the "Bankruptcy Court") on the valuation of a creditor’s claim that in connection with the termination and acceleration of a mortgage loan repurchase agreement.1 The decision is significant because the Third Circuit affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision that the post-acceleration market value of the mortgage loans was not a relevant m
On December 15, 2010, Judge James Peck of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the Bankruptcy Court) approved Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc.’s (LBSF) motion (the Motion) for approval of a settlement among LBSF, BNY Corporate Trustee Services Limited (BNY), Perpetual Trustee Company Limited (Perpetual) and others relating to certain note issuance and swap transactions with Saphir Finance Public Limited Company (Saphir) under a program known as the Dante Program.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit”) on February 7, 2011 issued an opinion rejecting the often used gifting doctrine in the context of a plan of reorganization on the one hand, while affirming vote designation for claims not purchased in good faith on the other.In re DBSD N. Am., Inc., __ F.3d __, 2011 WL 350480 (2d Cir. Feb. 7, 2011).
A degree of certainty—for the time being—has been restored for participants in the commercial lending and debt trading markets who have been tracking the appeal of a controversial 2009 fraudulent transfer decision in the TOUSA, Inc. bankruptcy case.i On February 11, 2011, Judge Gold of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida quashed (or nullified)ii the bankruptcy court’s decision, which ordered a group of lenders to disgorge $480 million received in connection with loans they extended to a joint venture involving TOUSA, Inc.