Litigation

"… [P]ayments owed to a shareholder by a bankrupt debtor, which are not quite dividends but which certainly look a lot like dividends, should be treated like the equity interests of a shareholder and subordinated to claims by creditors of the debtor," held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

As the DOJ expands its mismarking inquiries beyond stocks and bonds and into areas like private equity, recent cases illuminate the increasing need for robust internal controls designed to eliminate the incentives for an employee or manager to overvalue assets.

Part Two of a Two-Part Article Part One of this article outlined the basic elements of a subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreement (SNDA), which regulates two competing interests in the same property — tenant's right to possess its premises pursuant to its lease and mortgage lender's security interest in that same premises. Part Two explains the differences between the concepts of "non-disturbance" and "recognition," while contending that lease recognition is more important to the tenant than not having its possession disturbed.

Sales of substantially all of a debtor's assets are commonplace in corporate Chapter 11 bankruptcies. The sale is supervised and approved by the Bankruptcy Court. Purchasers desire to know that if the sale is consummated, they will be protected from subsequent attacks on the sale and the sale process and presumably more bidders will participate, resulting in greater returns for the estates and creditors. Issues surrounding the finality of a bankruptcy sale were recently reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

In the face of increasing pressure from online retailers, and declining foot-traffic in malls and other brick-and-mortar locations, distressed retailers like Things Remembered need to act expeditiously to execute going-concern transactions if they are going to survive the market disruption.

New Developments In Och-Ziff FCPA Settlement As Brooklyn Judge Grants Victim Status to Former Investors In Restitution Claim over Lost African Mining Venture

The Franklin and Culhane Cases Demonstrate the Importance of Both Implementing and Then Following Corporate Litigation Readiness Measures for Purposes of FRCP 37(E) An evaluation of FRCP 37(e) necessarily entails examining key motion practice flash points that have arisen since the implementation of the rule. One of the most significant of these flash points is what constitutes "reasonable steps to preserve" relevant ESI.

Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.