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The Equitable Mootness Doctrine
Over time, equitable mootness, a court-created doctrine, had been consistently applied and embraced by appellate courts. The doctrine, as it has been applied, provides that appeals from orders confirming Chapter 11 plans will be considered moot ' and thus not subject to appellate review ' if: 1) a plan has been substantially consummated; and 2) granting appellate relief would unravel the plan or be inequitable to third parties relying on the order confirming the plan. Based on, and consistent with, decisions such as that of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in In re Chateaugay , 94 F.3d 772, 776 (2d Cir. 1996), and the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in In re Continental Airlines , 91 F.3d 553, 560 (3d Cir. 1996) ( en banc ), the equitable mootness doctrine has been read broadly to create a presumption that if a plan has been substantially consummated, appeals of the confirmation order are equitably moot.
Recently, three separate appellate court decisions, one by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Grasslawn Lodging v. Transwest Resort Props . ( In re Transwest Resort Props .), 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 11312 (9th Cir. Ariz. July 1, 2015); and two by the Third Circuit in One2One Communs. v. Quad/Graphics , 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12544 (3d Cir. N.J. July 21, 2015) and Tribune Media Company v. Aurelius Capital Management , 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 14530 (3d Cir. Del. Aug. 19, 2015), highlight the fact that there are differences among the circuit courts with respect to the appropriateness of the equitable mootness doctrine and the presumption of its application. In reasoning and result, these decisions challenge the doctrine and call into question its continued existence. By reason of these decisions, for parties-in-interest and for practitioners, consideration of whether to consummate a Chapter 11 plan while an appeal of the confirmation order is pending should and must be reevaluated.
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The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
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Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
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A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.