Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy courts continue to adjudicate disputes regarding Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, which addresses the disposition of executory contracts between the debtor and third parties. And we continue to report on developments in this area. Often the issue involves whether the contract is an executory contract that is subject to being assumed and assigned.

Among the risks of cryptocurrency exchanges are bankruptcy risk and fraud, including: the inalienability of account claims, holding an unsecured claim versus an entitlement to the return of coin, and bankruptcy preference risk.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York summed up the importance of the determination as to when a bankruptcy case is actually filed of record, thereby triggering the imposition of the automatic stay and found that the "upload" time of a bankruptcy filing — and not the time physically "stamped" on a bankruptcy petition — determines when a case is commenced. In doing so, the Bankruptcy Court offered direction and guidelines that debtors and creditors will be well advised to observe in future cases.

A sharply divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruling shielding a nondebtor in bankruptcy proceedings from asbestos lawsuits underscores the wider and growing divide among judges across the country on the bounds of Chapter 11 protection and corporations' use of the "Texas two-step" to address mass tort litigation.

Chapter 11 cases involving mass tort and complex personal injury claims often require the resolution of novel legal issues that stretch the bounds of existing precedent. As these cases evolve, they can also impact claims against other debtors unrelated to the case at hand through court-approved injunctions, releases or settlements.

With the dismissal of Johnson & Johnson's second talc bankruptcy, plaintiffs lawyers are doubling down on their plans to pursue trials across the country.

What is different about this distressed cycle is that most of the lenders are not foreclosing and taking title to the CRE assets, managing, and leasing them for a few months and then selling the properties. They are more likely to sell the note/mortgage rather than foreclose on the property. This presents a unique and interesting opportunity for astute distressed investors, who are experienced in acquiring mortgage notes secured by commercial property and in the arduous foreclosure and bankruptcy process,

In recent years, as extensive pre-bankruptcy planning has evolved, bankruptcy filings frequently involve affiliates of larger companies, engineered with a structuring of liabilities in mind. The question of whether these targeted filings are for a legitimate bankruptcy purpose or should be dismissed has been the subject of significant high-profile litigation.