Leverage and Lenders of Last Resort
Prior to the current global recession, companies filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection were able to secure financing with relative ease. In recent years, a competitive market for DIP lending had developed among investment banks, private equity firms, hedge funds and traditional lenders such as GE Capital.
Trade-in Value and Auto Loans After Bankruptcy Reform
An in-depth discussion of the 910-day provision and the hot debate surrounding it, this article is intended to provide a complete and exhaustive review of the legislative record to assist market actors and courts.
Are You Prepared for e-Discovery?
Bankruptcy courts, practitioners, trustees and examiners are facing a new reality with which many federal court litigants and their counsel are already painfully familiar: The dire economic and legal consequences of failing to properly identify, preserve, collect, review and produce relevant ESI electronically stored information (ESI).
Heightened Pleading Standards Apply to Avoidance Complaints
Parties to preference and fraudulent transfer actions should pay careful attention to the decision in <i>In re Caremerica, Inc.</i>, where the judge dismissed certain avoidance claims and upheld others asserted by a Chapter 7 trustee. <i>Caremerica</i> provides useful guidance on whether particular elements of a preference or fraudulent transfer claim have been adequately pled.
Fresh-Start Reporting
Emergence from bankruptcy presents a series of challenges for debtor companies, their creditors and counsel for all interested parties. One of the most significant challenges is financial reporting.
Creditor Committees in 'Meltdown' Chapter 11 Cases
Due to a number of forces, most importantly the global recession and the resulting global macroeconomic conditions, creditor committees are now having difficulty in finding their role in many Chapter 11 cases. Many factors, including rapid declines in asset values, means that many secured lenders find themselves holding loans that are vastly under-collateralized.
General Growth Properties
To the surprise of many, when General Growth Properties Inc. ("GGP") commenced a Chapter 11 proceeding in April 2009, it caused 166 solvent bankruptcy remote entities that were current on all their indebtedness (the "General Growth SPEs") that each owned a single mall property to also file Chapter 11 petitions.