Although Congress has not expressly addressed when and under what circumstances bankruptcy jurisdiction ends, most courts agree that a bankruptcy court's jurisdiction "shrinks" after confirmation of a plan. This article discusses the factors that courts take into consideration in determining the extent of the post-confirmation jurisdictional shrinkage.
this issue of WARN Act liability giving rise to significant administrative or priority claim risk is unique to bankruptcy.However, assuming that, for other reasons, a bankruptcy case is the best path for your client, what can you do to mitigate the risk?
"[T]he bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in denying [the debtor's former employees'] motion to compel arbitration" when the dispute turned on the relative priority of their claims, held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Oct. 6, 2016 in In re Lehman Bros. Holdings.
Recently, a Florida bankruptcy court permitted a Chapter 7 trustee to reach back 10 years to unwind a fraudulent transfer, a period of time well beyond the two years that practitioners generally expect.
One of the main causes of the "death spiral" of malls in the United States has been the bankruptcies, and subsequent liquidations, of many retailers that were once household names -- and often a mall's anchor tenants.
The growing presence of non-traditional lenders has been a noticeable trend in the finance industry for years. Yet these lenders have always played a prominent role in distressed lending. Often, they are industry participants who are not only extending a lifeline to the debtor, but perhaps more importantly, protecting their customer base.
One of the rare legal issues in which bankruptcy practitioners usually are able to speak to clients in absolute terms to provide clear legal advice is the limitations period concerning the pursuit of avoidable transfers in bankruptcy proceedings.
A Chapter 11 debtor's motion for an order approving use of Cash Collateral or for Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) Financing usually happens as part of the so-called first-day hearings held within a few days after commencement of the case. The problem for creditors and equipment lessors is that while the debtor may have sent your client a notice of the bankruptcy case, the notice sometimes goes to the payment lock box or to someone who doesn't even know what bankruptcy is, much less that the order being sought is key to your client's future payment.
The automatic stay of 11 U.S.C. § 362 is one of the most important principles of bankruptcy law. It provides crucial breathing space for the debtor to reorganize or liquidate, and avoids the piecemeal dismemberment of the estate's assets. However, in rare instances, courts have extended stay protection to non-debtors through 11 USC § 105. This is considered extraordinary relief reserved for unusual circumstances, and may be analogized to the inherent power of federal courts under their general equity powers.
What Interest Rate Controls?
In today's low-interest rate environment, the difference between a contractual interest rate and the federal judgment rate can be quite significant. It is not surprising, therefore, that this issue has become hotly litigated in cases involving solvent Chapter 11 debtors.
