How the New UST Fee Schedule Is a Ticking Tax-Bomb for Middle Market Debtors
May 01, 2018
As of Jan. 1, 2018, each jointly administered debtor with quarterly disbursements of at least $1,000,000 must pay a fee of 1% of all disbursements, up to $250,000 per quarter. Although this change in the law was only intended to address shortfalls in UST funding, it has taken a little-noticed component of bankruptcy and magnified it into a ticking tax-bomb for unsuspecting debtors and their lenders.
SCOTUS Recap: What Lies Ahead for the Lower Courts' Tests for “Non-Statutory Insiders”
May 01, 2018
Ultimately, <i>Village at Lakeridge</i> is noteworthy for what the Supreme Court did not decide. In granting <i>certiorari</i>, the Supreme Court declined to address whether the lower courts' various “non-statutory insider” tests should be refined. As concurrences from Justices Sotomayor and Kennedy emphasized, though, that issue is ripe for increased scrutiny.
The Ripple Effect of Rejecting Trademark Licenses
April 01, 2018
<b><i>The First Circuit Widens the Controversy</b></i><p>In <i>In re Tempnology</i>, the First Circuit held that the debtor's rejection of a trademark license strips the nondebtor licensee of any right to continue to use the trademarks. In so doing, the court takes the same approach as the Fourth Circuit and rejects the approaches advocated by the Third and Seventh Circuits.
A Cautionary Tale for Lender Overreaching into Bankruptcy Remoteness
April 01, 2018
<b><i>In re Lexington Hospitality Group, LLC</b></i><p>Bankruptcy remote structures are often used to protect against the impact of default under a credit facility. A common mechanism is organizational documents requiring an outside director or member's vote to authorize a bankruptcy filing. However, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky found that such a requirement implemented at the behest of a lender, among other bankruptcy restrictions, and where there was not true independence frustrated the important federal public policy of favoring fresh starts in bankruptcy.
On the Move
April 01, 2018
Movers and shakers in bankruptcy law.
Offshore Restructuring Outlook
March 01, 2018
The first quarter of 2018 has seen the Dow and NASDAQ pushing through record highs, increasing consumer confidence in the U.S. and Europe. However, there are segments in the market that are expected to need continued restructuring work, both onshore and offshore through 2018, particularly: offshore oil and gas drillers; European and U.S. retail; and the highly leveraged Chinese real estate sector.
What Retailers Can Learn from Recent Bankruptcies
March 01, 2018
Understanding the factors leading up to these bankruptcies, as well as the strategies used by retailers to emerge from bankruptcy, can give retailers significant knowledge about trends in consumer spending and how retailers can improve their overall positions going forward.
Anti-Forfeiture Statute Saves a Debtor's Exercise of Option to Renew Lease
March 01, 2018
In a recent decision, Bankruptcy Judge Christopher S. Sontchi addressed the question of whether a Chapter 11 debtor, the tenant under a commercial lease, could exercise an option to renew the lease during the bankruptcy proceedings, even though the debtor was in default under the lease and the lease specified that it could not be renewed if defaults existed at the time the option was exercised.
