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Must New Value Remain Unpaid to Serve As a Defense to a Preference Action?

By Russell C. Silberglied and Kimberly D. Newmarch

Does subsequent new value need to be unpaid to constitute a defense to a preferential transfer under section 547(c)(4)? The issue arises when a creditor asserts the subsequent new value defense to a preference action, on the basis that additional credit (goods or services) was extended after the preferential transfer occurred, even if the subsequent new value was paid for by the debtor.

With every decade comes a new wrinkle in the discussion on whether the subsequent new value provided must remain unpaid. The issue has been resurrected recently due to the frequency of critical vendor orders authorizing the post-petition payment of pre-petition debt and debtors-in-possession agreeing to pay reclamation claims in exchange for keeping the goods. What was once previously unpaid “new value” has now been paid, albeit postpetition. Can the creditor still maintain the defense it provided subsequent new value when the new value has been repaid? Focusing on the plain language of the statute reveals the answer is yes. No matter how hard or how many times they try, courts cannot rewrite the precise language of the statute. Put simply, there is no requirement in section 547(c)(4) that in order to qualify for the subsequent new value exception the “new value” must remain unpaid.

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