Peter Morrison

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Routes to Reorganisation: A Comparative Study of the Insolvency Procedures Available in the UAE, KSA, US and England and Wales

Our recent insight provides a comparative summary of the insolvency procedures that are available in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), England and Wales, and the US. It compares which debtor-in-possession, office-holder and terminal procedures are available in each of those jurisdictions, as well as considering the extent to which the … Continue Reading

Envision’s Bankruptcy Provides Insight Into All That is Ailing The Healthcare Industry

The increase in bankruptcy filings that restructuring professionals have been expecting is now arriving.  With rising inflation, increased interest rates, tightening credit markets, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, we are starting to see a dramatic increase in filings.  Last week the American Bankruptcy Institute noted that commercial Chapter 11 filings increased 105% in May … Continue Reading

Congress Proposes Significant Bankruptcy Code Changes to Protect Tort Claimants and Creditors

Two controversial mechanisms are available in many circuits to assist parties in a chapter 11 case to reach a global resolution and obtain plan confirmation:  non-consensual third-party releases and preliminary stays against third-party litigation.  On July 28, 2021, the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law announced proposed legislation, the … Continue Reading

Top 10 Employment and Employee Benefit Issues in US Bankruptcy Cases

Bankruptcy is a term that tends to instill images of “For Sale” or “Everything Must Go” signs posted in windows, but this often is not the case. In fact, a bankruptcy filing is one way for a business to refocus its efforts and reorganize. Indeed, throughout history, many Fortune 500 companies have at some point … Continue Reading

Managing Fiduciary Duties In The Time Of COVID-19

In light of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting global economic slowdown, many companies—even previously healthy ones—are now faced with difficult decisions regarding investments, loans, employees, and myriad other matters in order to ensure their survival. It is in these times that directors must be especially aware of and abide by their … Continue Reading

Restructuring Considerations: Making the Most of Stimulus Relief

On March 26, 2020, the Senate approved a roughly $2 trillion stimulus package—the biggest economic stimulus in recent U.S. history—in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This economic relief provides expanded protections for American families, workers, and businesses affected by the public health and economic crisis. The key measures included in the package are: Bailouts for … Continue Reading

Restructuring Protections In A Time Of Coronavirus

What do businesses and their lenders/investors need to do to minimize loss and to maximize long-term financial stability in this volatile and unprecedented environment? Our global supply chain and R&I teams have produced a recent article that focuses on: Preparing new projections. Developing new financial and operating plans. What to do if maintaining existing financing … Continue Reading

Keeping Special Revenues “Special”

Special revenues may not be as special as many bondholders have historically expected.  Two recent rulings[1] from District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain in the Puerto Rico PROMESA proceeding have held that bond issuers are not required to make post-petition special revenue bond payments during a pending Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act … Continue Reading

Montana Court Refuses to Shift Venue of “Related to” CFPB Police Action to Texas Bankruptcy Court

On February 6, 2018, the District Court for the District of Montana refused a debtor’s request to change the venue of a post-petition “related to” police/regulatory action commenced by a federal agency in district court.  The decision will have important implications on how “related to” litigation is treated for venue purposes—especially in the context of … Continue Reading

Texas Showdown Over Class Claims

This past November, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas sided with the majority of circuit courts when it held (i) that bankruptcy courts may apply Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 to class proofs of claim and administrative proofs of claim, and (ii) that a putative representative may file a conditional claim … Continue Reading

Gawker Media: Hulk Hogan Body Slams Company Into Bankruptcy And Court Pins

The American Bankruptcy Institute Journal just published our article analyzing an important decision issued in the Gawker Media bankruptcy case.  As we discuss, the court’s decision is likely to have a dramatic impact on media-industry debtors because of the court’s refusal to apply the California anti-SLAPP statute to the Debtors’ claim objection.  But the decision is … Continue Reading

Chapter 15 Does Not Prohibit Foreign Representatives From Pursuing State And Foreign Law Avoidance Actions

Last month Bankruptcy Judge Isacoff in the Southern District of Florida held that a foreign representative may bring state law and foreign law avoidance actions notwithstanding section 1521(a)(7) of the Bankruptcy Code. The case, Laspro Consulores LTDA v. Alinia Corp. (In re Massa Falida Do Banco Cruzeiro Do Sul S.A.), deals with the fraudulent activity … Continue Reading

Are Structured Dismissals on Hold Pending the Supreme Court’s Decision in Jevic?

American Apparel, the struggling clothing manufacturer and retailer, found itself in chapter 11 this past November after failing to implement its turnaround plan amid a challenging retail environment.  Last week, Judge Shannon in the District of Delaware approved a largely consensual sale of American Apparel’s assets to Gildan Activewear.  While the hearing transcript is not … Continue Reading

Quantum Foods – – Administrative Expense Claims as an Avoidance Offset.

Judge Carey in the District of Delaware recently ruled on an intriguing question—can a defendant in a preference action reduce the amount of a recoverable preference by setting off the value of an allowed administrative expense claim? Though not late-breaking news, this case provides a thorough examination of the essential character of administrative expense claims.… Continue Reading

Teenagers And The D.C. Circuit Agree: Internet Service Is A Utility – Will Bankruptcy Courts Follow?

The topic of net neutrality has continued to be at the forefront of public discourse over recent years.  This is the result of the FCC’s repeated attempts to impose regulations designed to protect consumers while at the same time telecom companies seek to control their product and the services they provide without what they contend … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Debtors by Adopting an Expansive View of “Actual Fraud”

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court in Husky International Electronics, Inc. v. Ritz held a chapter 7 debtor accountable for “actual fraud” despite the absence of a specific fraudulent misrepresentation.  The Court’s expansive reading of section 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code gives creditors a new weapon in their fight to attack the discharge of their debts. … Continue Reading

Delaware Judges Double Down on the Boomerang Ruling Solidifying it as the Law of Delaware

In February, we told you about Judge Walrath’s recent opinion in In re Boomerang Tube, Inc., which rejected a variety of different arguments, including a contractual work-around, that sought to circumvent the Supreme Court’s decision in Baker Botts LLP v. ASARCO, LLC.  In ASARCO, the Supreme Court held that professionals representing debtors and creditors’ committees … Continue Reading

Bankruptcy CSI: Did The CEO Leave Evidence Of Wrongdoing?

When is there sufficient evidence to hold that a fiduciary’s debt to an ERISA benefit plan is non-dischargeable in bankruptcy?  The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York recently held in In re Kern, Case No. 13-08096 (Dec. 10, 2015), that there was not sufficient evidence to support a non-dischargeability claim even though the … Continue Reading

Caesars’ Rolls Snake Eyes: District Court Refuses To Enjoin Suit Against Parent

The Caesars’ bankruptcy case has garnered a great deal of attention throughout the year and has yielded a number of interesting and important opinions. The latest opinion of significance was issued on October 6, 2015 by the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In its opinion, the district court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s … Continue Reading

Litigants Beware: Filing an Involuntary Bankruptcy Could Make You a Debtor Rather than a Creditor

Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in In re TPG Troy, LLC, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12085 that awarded over a half-million dollars in legal fees and expenses to the subjects of an improper involuntary bankruptcy filing.  The Court’s decision … Continue Reading

Consent, Express or Implied, Allows Bankruptcy Judges to Adjudicate “Stern Claims”

In a case that could have upended the bankruptcy and magistrate court systems, the Supreme Court took a pragmatic approach yesterday when it held in Wellness Int’l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif that with “knowing and voluntary consent” of the parties, a bankruptcy court could adjudicate a so-called “Stern claim,” which would otherwise be outside the scope … Continue Reading

Show Me the Money – Courts in the Second Circuit Continue to Apply Section 109 to Chapter 15 Cases and Cash in the Bank Does the Job

In December 2013, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that section 109 of the Bankruptcy Code was applicable to Chapter 15 cases.  In Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund LP v. Barnet (In re Barnet), 737 F.3d 238 (2d Cir. 2013), the Court engaged in a statutory analysis and determined that Chapter 1 of … Continue Reading

But I Didn’t Mean to…Subjective Intent Does Not Determine the Effect of a UCC Termination Statement

According to a recent decision from the Delaware Supreme Court, a secured party bears the burden of any mistakes in its security documents.  Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors of Motors Liquidation Co. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 325, 2014 Del. LEXIS 491 (Del. Oct. 17, 2014) (“Del. Op.”).  The Court’s decision is a wake-up … Continue Reading
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