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Circuit Court Win Sets Up Conflict over Bankruptcy Code

By Jay L. Gottlieb and Arianna Frankl
June 25, 2004

A recent circuit court decision regarding the interpretation of section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code has set up a conflict between two circuits. On March 15, 2004, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an opinion regarding whether bankruptcy debtors are required to cure non-monetary defaults prior to assuming unexpired leases under section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. ' 365. In re Bankvest Capital Corp. (Eagle Insurance Co. v. Bankvest Capital Corp.), 360 F.3d 291 (1st Cir. 2004). The First Circuit found — expressly contrary to a holding of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — that debtors are not required to cure such defaults, resulting in a split in the circuits over a very widely used section of the code.

Bankruptcy Code Section 365

The Bankvest case involved interpretation of Bankruptcy Code section 365(b)(2)(D). This subsection is part of a larger provision of the Bankruptcy Code, section 365, which permits a debtor to assume or reject executory contracts or unexpired leases that the debtor had entered into prior to bankruptcy. What constitutes an executory contract (including an unexpired lease) under the Bankruptcy Code has been the subject of a great deal of litigation and commentary over the years. Perhaps the most often quoted definition is “a contract under which the obligations of both the bankrupt and the other party to the contract are so far unperformed that the failure of either to complete performance would constitute a material breach excusing performance of the other.” Gallivan v. Springfield Post Rd. Corp., 110 F.3d 848, 851 (1st Cir. 1997).

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