There's a split among circuit courts on whether tax foreclosure sales may be avoidable as preferential and fraudulent transfers by property owners who subsequently seek relief under the Bankruptcy Code. If the Supreme Court eventually weighs in to resolve this circuit split, property owners, municipalities, and potential bidders for tax liens across the country will receive greater clarity on this critical issue.
Bankruptcy practice leaders admittedly have some time on their hands, which they're using to sniff out insolvency in distressed sectors and market their services to existing and potential clients.
This installment of our appellate practice series reviews recent cases addressing the equitable mootness doctrine. The issue ultimately often turns on whether it is practical and fair for an appellate court to review an appeal on the merits, enabling that court to avoid review altogether.
At first glance, Chapter 15 might appear to have the relatively minor role of staying actions against U.S. assets while the main foreign proceeding moves forward. However, as one recent case out of the Southern District of New York demonstrates, Chapter 15 carries the potential to significantly impact not only the main foreign bankruptcy, but civil litigation in the United States as well.
This article provides an overview of Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, a key provision within the Code that allows a debtor to assume, assume and assign, or reject certain executory contracts and unexpired leases.
A ruling tossing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement could tee up a new issue for the U.S. Supreme Court and spur other judges to more closely scrutinize non-debtor releases, a controversial mechanism that shields third parties in Chapter 11 proceedings from liability.
Recent cases show that appellate courts continue to wrestle with standing, jurisdiction, mootness, excusable neglect and finality, among other things. The following overview, in a series of installments, shows what the courts have been addressing during just the past three years. This first installment will cover appellate standing.
In a recent case from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Paragon Offshore PLC, the bankruptcy court provided guidance on whether a post-plan effective date litigation trust's distributions constituted disbursements subject to the U.S. Trustee fee "tax."
'Purdue Pharma' Looms Although four cases presenting important bankruptcy issues were teed up for the Supreme Court's consideration this term, the Court denied certiorari for each. Each of these petitions involve splits among the circuit courts of appeals, influencing choice of venue and the extent to which bankruptcy decisions are subject to meaningful appeal.
Attorneys general from 41 states, along with Puerto Rico and Guam, have issued a statement in support of legislation before Congress geared toward stopping corporations from venue-shopping bankruptcy cases.
