Can the Marshalling Doctrine Rescue Reclaiming Creditors?

Some courts deny relief under Section 546(c) of the Bankruptcy Code to a vendor holding a valid reclamation claim where a secured lender holds a floating lien on after-acquired inventory. In such cases, no administrative expense claim or replacement lien is granted to the vendor. This occurs even when the secured lender is oversecured. This article poses the question as to whether pursuant to Sections 544(a) and 546(c) of the Bankruptcy Code the equitable doctrine of marshalling should apply to provide relief to a reclamation creditor where a secured lender holding a lien on substantially all of the debtor's assets, including floating lien and after-acquired inventory, is oversecured. A plain reading of Sections 544(a) and 546(c) of the Bankruptcy Code suggests that a reclaiming creditor may be able to invoke the marshalling doctrine under these circumstances.

19 minute read February 24, 2005 at 09:49 AM
By
Robert W. Dremluk
Can the Marshalling Doctrine Rescue Reclaiming Creditors?

Some courts deny relief under Section 546(c) of the Bankruptcy Code to a vendor holding a valid reclamation claim where a secured lender holds a floating lien on after-acquired inventory.

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