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The New Battle of Midway: Appeals Court Finds Middle Ground for Lessors to Recover All Post-Petition Lease Obligations
The leasing industry is going through wars again. In addition to bankrupt industrial companies and retailers, airlines are either in bankruptcy or teetering on the brink of a Chapter 11 filing. Such precarious times engender a host of issues for lessors, the paramount question of course being “do I get paid?” Key to that is what lessors are entitled to for the “post-petition” phase, the time between the date of the bankruptcy filing and the date the lease is either assumed or rejected by a bankruptcy trustee or a debtor in possession (“DIP”). Fractious court decisions have made it uncertain how and for how much lessors may recover for post-petition contractual lease obligations, but now a new appellate court decision may prove to be the turning point toward victory for the leasing industry.
Destined to be a new benchmark in lessors' rights to recover in bankruptcy cases, this new case is titled CIT Communications Finance Corporation v. Midway Airlines Corp. (In re Midway Airlines Corp.), 406 F.3d 229 (4th Cir. 2005). As is well known, Midway Airlines succumbed to insolvency in 2001, and at first attempted to reorganize pursuant to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful in that endeavor, and its case was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation.
Enter the lessor, CIT Communications Finance, a subsidiary of the global finance giant CIT (for ease of reference simply “CIT” hereinafter). In early 1999, the airline and CIT entered into a lease agreement, whereby Midway leased telephone equipment. The lease was for 5 years and called for a monthly payment of a little less than $12,000. As is typical, the arrangement gave CIT the right to assess interest, late charges, and attorneys' fees in the event of nonpayment.
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Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
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Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.