For over a decade now, the Bankruptcy Code has granted a priority of payment with regard to creditor claims for goods received by the debtor in the 20 days before bankruptcy. A creditor merely needs to demonstrate that the debtor "received" the goods within the prescribed pre-bankruptcy interval, and its claim attains priority as an administrative expense. Ah, but therein lies the rub.
Third Circuit Sidesteps Ruling
The Third Circuit recently dismissed an appeal from "the sale of legal claims" as "statutorily moot" under Bankruptcy Code § 363(m) because the appellants "had not obtained a stay" of the effectiveness of the sale order pending appeal. Here's why this ruling is so important.
Many bankruptcy practitioners are at least somewhat familiar with the highly publicized proceedings involving Life Partners Holdings Inc. (LPHI), a company that sold fractional ownership interests in life insurance policies — referred to as life settlements. This case was as complex as any could imagine and, as the Trustee appointed to manage this bankruptcy, the author had a front-row seat.
Can a creditor obtain a security interest in electricity under UCC Article 9? It covers security interests in fixtures and personal property. Clearly, electricity is not real property or a fixture. But what kind of personal property is it?
Various debt-burdened retailers are looking to their intellectual property assets as a source of untapped value for refinancing transactions. While it remains to be seen which strategies will be most successful, IP assets will play a key role in future retail restructurings.
Diagnosing financial distress, and the ability to address the relevant issues, is a necessary role of board members and senior executives. This article examines the types of distress, how to measure it versus how the capital markets measure it, and some of the tools and solutions a company has to address the issues during times of stress.
Beyond Filing a Proof of Claim
This article explains the rights of a creditor, whether an equipment financier or otherwise, to pursue examinations of a debtor in bankruptcy in order to obtain sworn testimony and information that may be helpful to the creditor.
In In re AE Liquidation, the Third Circuit held that a WARN Act notice only must be given when mass layoffs are probable, not when merely foreseeable. As a result, a debtor that was attempting to effectuate a going concern sale under Bankruptcy Code Section 363 was not liable for failing to give a WARN Act notice until the day it determined it could no longer wait for approvals from the buyer to close.
In Haining Wansheng Sofa Co., Ltd. v. World Imports, Ltd. (In re World Imports, Ltd.), the Third Circuit firmly declared that "received" in Section 503(b)(9) connotes actual physical custody of the goods by the debtor. This turnabout in the interpretation of the meaning of "received" is a significant development, given that such claims frequently arise in business bankruptcies.
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