Any bankruptcy practitioner, upon first contact with a municipal bankruptcy case, may be shocked by the lack of substantive law to be found in Chapter 9. The dearth of detail has long caused bankruptcy lawyers and courts to turn to the far more substantive provisions of Chapter 11 for practical guidance.
Secured creditors and debtor-in-possession (DIP) lenders that rely on standard carve-out provisions to limit the impact of bankruptcy professional fees on their collateral would be well-advised to take notice of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court decision from earlier this year.
There is a new trend emerging in FCRA litigation involving Chapter 13 bankruptcy, under which debtors propose a repayment plan to make installment payments to creditors over three to five years. Increasingly, plaintiffs are filing suit based on certain credit-reporting actions taken (or not taken) during a pending Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, after plan confirmation but prior to the entry of the discharge — when a debtor has met all requirements set by the court.
Internet assets generally, and Internet asset licenses in particular, are increasingly subject to bankruptcy proceedings.
Proper notice is a hallmark of all bankruptcy proceedings. If a creditor or party-in-interest has no notice of a particular matter, many courts have ruled that the creditor or party-in-interest will not be bound by a particular court's determination.
Ubiquitous news of law firm data breaches, even among BigLaw, spotlights a treasure trove of trade secrets, confidential and strategic transactions, and sensitive client information. No wonder law firms are perceived to be attractive targets of cyber-attacks. Attractive? You can't help that. Easy? Not so fast.
On Jan. 17, 2017, in a closely watched dispute, the Second Circuit issued its long-anticipated decision in Marblegate Asset Management, LLC v. Education Management Finance Corp., construing Section 316(b) narrowly, holding that it only prohibits "non-consensual amendments to an indenture's core payment terms" and does not protect noteholders' practical ability to receive payment.
Will Reversing a Transaction 'Seriously Upset The Securities Market' Ability to Function'?
On Dec. 1, 2016, Bankruptcy Judge Michael J. Kaplan, held that when a private company repurchases stock from a shareholder, and the payments were made "by" the company "to" the shareholder, through a bank, those payments are not protected by Bankruptcy Code § 546(e)'s safe harbor defense because its application "cannot be permitted to turn upon the use of a bank."
Uncertain Treatment of Make-Whole Premiums Upon Bankruptcy-Induced Acceleration and Redemption of Indentures
Recently, tempted by attractive interest rates, certain borrowers have sought to use the bankruptcy process to shield themselves from their obligations to pay make-whole premiums contemplated by their indenture documents. Although certain courts have allowed crafty borrowers to shed unwanted make-whole obligations through the bankruptcy process, other courts refuse to sanction such manipulation.
A Chapter 11 debtor "cannot nullify a preexisting obligation in a loan agreement to pay post-default interest solely by proposing a cure," held a split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Nov. 4, 2016.
