On December 1, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Honorable Denise Cote) entered an opinion and order that struck third-party releases and a related injunction in a confirmed Chapter 11 Plan (the “Plan”) for the In re Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., et al. bankruptcy cases (Case No. … Continue Reading
In a decision regarding the use of equity rights offerings with potentially significant ripple effects across the restructuring industry, Judge Andrew Hanen of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas reversed Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez’s order confirming the plan of reorganization of ConvergeOne Holdings and affiliates (the “Debtors”), holding that the … Continue Reading
On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a precedential decision in Little Hearts Marks Family II L.P. v. Carter (In re 305 East 61st Street Group LLC), 130 F.4th 272 (2d Cir. 2025), delineating the boundary between claims a member of a limited liability company may assert in … Continue Reading
On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc.,[1] which materially limited the ability of federal courts to issue so-called “universal” or “nationwide” injunctions. Injunctions are common in bankruptcy cases, sometimes at the outset and nearly always as a part of a debtor’s proposed plan to reorganize or liquidate. … Continue Reading
On July 18, 2025, President Trump signed into law the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, otherwise known as the GENIUS Act. The purpose of the GENIUS Act is to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States. However, the GENIUS Act also makes several important changes to the … Continue Reading
What does it mean to be “bankrupt?” The Fourth Circuit recently held oral arguments to determine this question in Bestwall, LLC v. The Official Committee of Asbestos Claimants.[1] There, the Asbestos Claimants asserted that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina (the “Bankruptcy Court”) lacks jurisdiction over Bestwall, because Bestwall … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided United States v. Miller, which resolved a circuit split over whether a trustee could avoid federal tax payments under section 544(b) of the United States Bankruptcy Code.[1] In this case, a trustee utilized section 544(b) to claw back tax payments under Utah’s state fraudulent transfer statute. Ordinarily, an action … Continue Reading
Recently, the Office of the United States Trustee (the “UST”) has been objecting to debtors’ motions to establish bidding procedures to sell some or all of an estate’s assets pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. As highlighted in three recent Delaware cases, the UST has objected to stalking horse bid protections on a … Continue Reading
On December 31, 2024, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a unanimous decision reversing the bankruptcy court’s ruling that allowed an uptier transaction entered into by Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC (“Serta Simmons”) in 2020 (the “2020 Uptier”). The appellate court also held that plan provisions requiring the indemnification of the lenders … Continue Reading
Subchapter V bankruptcy cases have exploded in popularity, primarily due to its high rate of obtaining confirmed plans, significantly lower costs, faster pace, and ability for debtors to retain the equity in their businesses. But some bankruptcy courts and circuit courts have begun expanding exceptions for debts that Subchapter V debtors cannot discharge. Recently, former … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 144 S.Ct. 2071 (U.S. 2024) (“Purdue Pharma”), addressing whether nonconsensual third-party releases are permissible under the Bankruptcy Code. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that nonconsensual third-party releases are not permitted under the Bankruptcy Code. Notably, however, the Supreme Court … Continue Reading
The bankruptcy court presiding over the FTX Trading bankruptcy last month issued a memorandum opinion addressing valuation of cryptocurrency-based claims and how to “calculate a reasonable discount to be applied to the Petition Date market price” for certain cryptocurrency tokens. As noted in Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey’s opinion, “[n]o bankruptcy court has ever estimated the … Continue Reading
File your proof of claim before the bar date. That’s a principle every creditor in a bankruptcy case should adhere by. But on June 7, 2024, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York may have increased the degree of diligence parties need to conduct to determine whether they are a … Continue Reading
On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that a bankruptcy court does not have the statutory authority to discharge creditors’ claims against a non-debtor without the creditors’ consent (except in asbestos cases). The decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma settles a long-standing dispute in the bankruptcy world that will have … Continue Reading
This author—whose practice is heavily weighted toward representation of official committees in large chapter 11 cases—has previously penned articles relating to questions surrounding the permanency of an official committee. First, in an article entitled Does a Bankruptcy Court Have Authority to Disband an Official Committee?,[1] two then high-profile bankruptcy cases were examined—In re City of … Continue Reading
When a liquidating debtor seeks to assume a lease, one of the lessor’s immediate questions is who will be the assignee. But what happens when a liquidating debtor seeks to assume a lease and waits up to two years thereafter to determine who the assignee will be? Although peculiar, the analysis of whether to grant … Continue Reading
Last month the Delaware Chancery Court sent a clear message to Delaware companies that failure to strictly comply with the Delaware Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (“ABC”) statute will result in severe consequences, including dismissal. On December 27, 2023, WMT (an ABC) LLC (the “Assignee”) filed an assignment petition which provided that it had … Continue Reading
In my most recent blog post, I provided some tips for creditors who find themselves in the Subchapter V arena. This is somewhat of a follow-up to that one. There is a general consensus that Subchapter V has been successful for debtors in smaller cases. The American Bankruptcy Institute recently commented that Subchapter V bankruptcies … Continue Reading
As discussed in our prior blog entitled “New York’s Sovereign Debt Restructuring Proposals,”[1] three bills were introduced in the New York state legislature to overhaul the way sovereign debt restructurings are handled in New York. Those bills sought to implement a comprehensive mechanism for restructuring sovereign debt, limit recovery on certain sovereign debt claims, and … Continue Reading
As seen in the recent proliferation of bankruptcy cases seeking a structured dismissal or conversion after a successful sale, debtors constantly seek creative and efficient ways to wind up a case, including through a traditional plan of liquidation. Yet, as discussed below, debtors must ensure that any proposed voting procedures for a plan comply with … Continue Reading
In our latest insight we look back at the key restructuring cases and events from last year in the United States, Asia-Pacific, and Australia and consider the outlook in 2024 for restructuring transactions as a whole. This insight provides an overview of the US banking crisis involving Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the … Continue Reading
A common defense to a fraudulent transfer claim in bankruptcy concerning a securities transaction is the “safe harbor” defense under section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code. In a unique twist, a post-confirmation trust in Delaware recently argued that the safe harbor defense should not be available if the underlying transaction was illegal under the law … Continue Reading
In March 2022, the International Monetary Fund (the “IMF”) assessed Sri Lanka’s public debt to be unsustainable after the country entered the pandemic with thin reserve buffers, high debt levels, and no fiscal space. The IMF’s determination prompted Sri Lanka to begin restructuring its debt the following month. As part of that process, Sri Lanka … Continue Reading
A consensual resolution among all stakeholders is an important goal of any bankruptcy proceeding. But how can parties reach a consensual deal if financing is drying up quickly and the prospect of confirming a plan is grim? That was the issue facing the Rockport debtors (the “Debtors”) in their Delaware bankruptcy cases styled In re … Continue Reading
