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The Bankruptcy StrategistFeaturesBankruptcyLitigation

COVID-19: A Massive Impediment to Bankruptcy Relief

By Joseph H. Lemkin
May 01, 2020

The impact of COVID-19 on efforts of businesses to reorganize or even orderly liquidate in bankruptcy has been swift and devastating, particularly in the retail sector. Who could have ever thought that the economy would be so shut down that restructuring efforts under the Bankruptcy Code would be impossible? In the financial apocalypse of 2008, the notion was that certain financial institutions were too big to fail. With the COVID-19 pandemic, "too shut down to shut down" may be the mantra to describe efforts under the Bankruptcy Code.

Whether it is orderly liquidation or reorganization, COVID-19 is serving as a massive impediment to bankruptcy relief. With uncertainty as to when the pandemic will ease, Bankruptcy Courts do not seem to be a panacea leading to successful reorganizations or orderly liquidations for troubled companies.

Art Van Granted Chapter 7 Conversion

Pleadings in bankruptcy cases almost always lead with a chronological history of financial difficulties, including cash flow issues, burdensome debt loads, and oppressive litigation. COVID-19 has downgraded the significance of such chronologies for retailers.

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