The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a bankruptcy court’s equitable subordination order on June 20, 2008. Wooley v. Faulkner (In re SI Restructuring, Inc.), ____ F.3d __, 2008 WL2469406 (5th Cir. 2008). According to the court, subordination of the insiders’ secured claims was “inappropriate” because the bankruptcy trustee had failed to show that the defendant insiders’ “loans to the debtor harmed either the debtor or the general creditors.” Id., at *1. The court also rejected the trustee’s “deepening insolvency” argument on the facts and as a matter of law.

The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently held that an oversecured lender holds at least an unsecured claim for contractual prepayment penalties against a solvent debtor. UPS Capital Business Credit v. Gencarelli (In re Gencarelli), 2007 BL 91656 (1st Cir., Aug. 30, 2007). As the court explained, "[t]his is a difficult question that has significant ramifications for the commercial lending industry." Id. at 16.

A Chapter 11 debtor’s impairment in its reorganization plan of two unsecured claims filed by its former lawyer and accountant “was transparently an artifice to circumvent the purposes of” the Bankruptcy Code (“Code”), held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Jan. 27, 2016. In re Village Green I G.P., 2016 WL 325163, at *2 (6th Cir. Jan. 27, 2016).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, on July 9, 2007, decisively affirmed a bankruptcy court's dismissal of an equitable subordination complaint filed by a creditors' committee against eight investment fund lenders. Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Applied Theory Corporation v. Halifax Fund, L.P., et al. (In re Applied Theory Corporation), ___ F.3d ___, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 16180 (2d Cir. July 9, 2007).

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, overseeing the bankruptcy cases of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“LBHI”) and its affiliated debtors (collectively, the “Debtors”), entered an order on Aug.

SRZ's reorganization group recently helped a lender avoid a surcharge against its collateral for legal fees. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur N. Votolato of the District of Rhode Island handed the lender the important victory on July 5, 2007, after an earlier trial. In re California Webbing Industries, Inc., 2007 WL 1953018 (Bankr. D. R. I., 7/5/07). In a detailed 22-page opinion, Judge Votolato held that the lender never consented to the use of its collateral to pay the fees of counsel for a Chapter 11 debtor and the creditors' committee in its failed reorganization case.

The U.S. Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision on June 28, 2011, held that Bankruptcy Code § 546(e), which exempts a “Settlement Payment” from a bankruptcy trustee’s avoiding powers, insulated two sellers of Enron Corporation’s commercial paper from suit despite Enron’s early pre- bankruptcy redemption. Enron Creditors Recovery Corp. v. Alfa, S.A.B. de C.V., ___F.3d ___, 2011 WL 2536101 (2d Cir. June 28, 2011) (2-1).

The Supreme Court unanimously held on March 20, 2007, that an unsecured lender could recover contractbased legal fees “incurred in [post-bankruptcy] litigation” on “issues of bankruptcy law.” Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of America v. Pacific Gas & Elec. Co., __ U.S. __ (March 20, 2007). Op., at 1, 3. In doing so, the court vacated a summary ruling by the Ninth Circuit last year. 167 Fed. Appx. 593 (9th Cir. 2006) (held, “attorney fees… not recoverable in bankruptcy for litigating issues ‘peculiar to federal bankruptcy law.’“), citing In re Fobian, 951 F.2d 1149, 1153 (9th Cir.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, on Feb. 7, 2011, held that senior creditors could not “gift” part of their reorganization plan recovery to existing shareholders of the debtor.In re DBSD N. Am., Inc., __ F.3d __, 2011 WL 350480 (2d Cir. Feb. 7, 2011) (2-1) (Lynch, J.) (explainingIn re DBSD N. Am., Inc., 627 F.3d 496 (2d Cir. 2010) (summary opinion)). Its extensive 62-page opinion explained the court’s previous two-page summary ruling of Dec.

A court-approved pre-plan settlement that would have resolved a dispute between a Chapter 11 creditors’ committee and the debtor’s secured lenders over the lenders’ liens was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 5. Motorola, Inc. v. Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors and J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (In re Iridium Operating LLC). The settlement also would have funded massive litigation against the debtor’s former parent, Motorola Inc.

Motorola’s Successful Argument