Bankruptcy & Restructuring

Working for the Queen of Hearts is a tough gig. A disappointing quarter and she's quick to the chopping block. And the 'severance' she offers - "Off with their heads!" - no thanks.

Bill Kannel was recently quoted in The Deal's article “Taking bankruptcies too fast around the curve” regarding the growing trend of shorter, preplanned Chapter 11 cases. Experts debate the causes and effects including a potential link between case length and refilings as companies skim over key structural and operational issues in favor of more dynamic and immediate fixes.

At first glance, Stanziale v. MILK072011, looks like someone suing over a bad expiration date and conjures up images of Ron Burgundy proclaiming “Milk was a bad choice.” But in actuality Stanziale is much more interesting: it answers whether one can breach their fiduciary duty by exposing an employer to a claim under the aptly-named WARN Act, which requires employers to tip off their workers to a possible job loss.

In a recent New York Law Journal article, “The Evolution of Fiduciary Duties Under Delaware Law”, John Bae and Kaitlin Walsh describe the ongoing development of Delaware law regarding directors’ duties and provide guidance to directors of corporations facing insolvency. 

Last week the Working Group for the Fiscal and Economic Recovery of Puerto Rico gave the broadest hint yet of the next tactic in Puerto Rico’s ongoing quest to deleverage itself. 

Generally, once a plan of reorganization is confirmed and substantially consummated, an appellate court will not “unscramble the egg” and grant appellate relief if doing so would harm third parties that relied on the confirmation order.

In our prior post, we discussed the standard a creditor must meet to sue an insolvent corporation for breach of fiduciary duties, as laid out in the Quadrant Structured Products Co., Ltd. v. Vertin decision.

Dan Bleck was quoted in the Modern Healthcare article “Hospitals remain stressed, but don’t blame the ACA” addressing the misconception that the Affordable Care Act is the reigning force pushing healthcare providers into bankruptcy.

A Delaware bankruptcy court held in In re Ferris Properties, Inc. that the debtors could not sell their property free and clear of the secured lender’s mortgages because the lender would not be paid in full from the proceeds of the sale. Specifically, the Court held that the lender could not be compelled to accept a money satisfaction of its interests under section 363(f)(5), and that the lender did not consent to the sale under section 363(f)(2).

In the recent Third Circuit decision in In re Jevic Holding Corp. the Court of Appeals ruled that, in rare circumstances, settlements in bankruptcy cases can be approved even if they result in junior creditors receiving a distribution before senior creditors are paid in full (i.e., even if the settlement violates the "absolute priority rule").

The Supreme Court has spoken once again on the limited jurisdiction of the bankruptcy courts, adding to the understanding derived from previous cases. Wellness International Network, Ltd., et al. v. Sharif is the Supreme Court’s sixth significant case exploring bankruptcy court jurisdiction under the Bankruptcy Code.

The Delaware Court of Chancery recently held that, for a creditor to have standing to bring a derivative breach of fiduciary duty action, the creditor need only establish that the corporation was insolvent at the time the creditor’s action was filed—not that the corporation continued to be insolvent until the date of judgment.

There is little poetry in tobacco bonds these days. Cigarette consumption has declined beyond projections, and the advent of e-cigarettes may exacerbate the decline.

When a company begins experiencing financial difficulty, shareholders often ask whether they may be liable under the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act for violations by the company.

The Bankruptcy Code generally permits intellectual property licensees to continue using licensed property despite a licensor’s bankruptcy filing. However, because the “intellectual property” definition in the Bankruptcy Code does not include “trademarks,” courts have varied on whether trademark licensees receive similar protection.

Directors of an insolvent corporation face a host of difficult questions. Should they wind up operations or file for bankruptcy to preserve assets for creditors, or chart a riskier course that could lead the company back to profitability and possibly create value for shareholders?

In a recent bench decision in In re MPM Silicones, LLC et al., Case No. 14-22503-RDD (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. August 26, 2014), the Bankruptcy Court considered bondholders’ right to recover make-whole premiums (premiums paid for early repayment of debt) upon the payment of accelerated debt following the borrower’s bankruptcy default.

The Supreme Court has spoken once again on the limited jurisdiction of the bankruptcy courts, adding to the understanding derived from Northern Pipeline Constr. Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co., 458 U.S. 50 (1982), Granfinanciera v. Nordberg, 492 U.S. 33 (1989), Langenkamp v. Culp, 498 U.S. 42 (1990) and Stern v. Marshall, 131 S. Ct. 2594 (2011).

The First Circuit Court of Appeals in In re SW Boston Hotel Venture, LLC, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 6768 (1st Cir. Apr. 11, 2014) recently ruled on a number of issues critical to valuing a secured claim in bankruptcy.

When doing business with a foreign company, it is important to identify the company’s “center of main interests” (“COMI”) as creditors may find themselves bound by the laws of the COMI locale.