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Third Circuit Affirms Reversal of $275M Break-Up Fee in Del. Bankruptcy Case

By Tom McParland
October 01, 2018

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Sept. 13 upheld a Delaware Bankruptcy Court's decision to block a Florida-based energy company from collecting a $275 million merger termination fee against the bankruptcy estates of Energy Future Holdings Corp. and a subsidiary.

The precedential decision held that the lower court judge was correct to backtrack on an initial order allowing NextEra Energy Inc. to claim the break-up fee, finding that the judge had overlooked evidence crucial to the case. However, the ruling came over the objection of one appellate judge, who said the decision set a “troubling, if not dangerous” precedent.

The ruling stemmed from EFH's Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Shortly after the company filed for bankruptcy protection, it agreed to sell its $18.7 billion stake in Oncor Electric Delivery Co., the largest electricity transmission and distribution system in Texas, to NextEra in a move that would have provided approximately $9.5 billion to its estate.

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