Perspectives on Bankruptcy & Strategic Litigation

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 130 attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2024, with an additional four attorneys highlighted as “Lawyers of the Year” and 69 attorneys listed as “Ones to Watch.”

On Nov. 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit directed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut to order a refund of fees paid by a Chapter 11 debtor to the Office of the U.S. Trustee, or UST.

On June 21, 2022, President Biden signed the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act into law. 

The President signed legislation raising the eligible debt ceiling for Subchapter V of Chapter 11 to $7,500,000. Small businesses with up to $7,500,000 in noncontingent, liquidated debts are eligible for relief under Subchapter V for another two years.

After years of large retailers and malls struggling prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the most vulnerable retailers filing for bankruptcy relief in its immediate wake in early 2020, the US economy rebounded strongly with the aid of government assistance and low interest rates.

Fifty-three Arent Fox LLP attorneys have been rated as leaders in their profession by The Best Lawyers in America 2021.

WASHINGTON — Twenty-four Arent Fox LLP practices have been recognized in the 2019 “Best Law Firms” rankings that are published annually by US News & World Report and Best Lawyers.

Forty Arent Fox LLP attorneys have been rated as leaders in their profession by The Best Lawyers in America 2019.

This analysis will help retailers, creditors, vendors, and opportunistic investors who are poised to take advantage of the recent trend in bankruptcy cases.

On Sunday, June 11, 2017, Gymboree filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, listing $755.5 million in assets and $1.365 billion in debts.

Chief Judge Leonard P. Stark of the District Court for the District of Delaware reversed and remanded the decision of the Bankruptcy Court which approved a Bankruptcy Rule 9019 settlement that Judge Stark concluded had been inadequately noticed under the circumstances.

Chief Judge Cecelia G. Morris of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York decided that banks may not place an administrative freeze, even a temporary one, on the bank account of an individual who files for bankruptcy.

In its ruling, the Appellate Court partially reversed the lower court’s limited approval of the Settlement by finding that the lower court improperly seconded-guessed the judgment of the Trustee and did not accord that judgment proper deference when considering approval of the Settlement.

The bankruptcy case of Energy Future Holdings (EFH) and its affiliates has already provided the Delaware bankruptcy court occasion to tackle a number of important bankruptcy questions, including the propriety of using tender offers to settle noteholder claims during the pendency of the case.

The Second Circuit in Krys v. Farnum Place denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc by Appellee Farnum Place, LLC , a hedge fund that sought to protect its purchase of a $230 million claim against the bankruptcy estate of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas (Bankruptcy Court) declined to grant comity to a decision of the Mexican labor board thereby refusing to recognize a foreclosure sale of assets belonging to Elcoteq, Inc., a US corporation in US bankruptcy proceedings.

The Bankruptcy Code definition of “intellectual property” does not explicitly include “trademarks.”

Around this abundance of litigation developed a significant body of jurisprudence, to which Judge Sean Lane of the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court recently added in clarifying the ordinary course of business preference defense.

In recent years, second lien financings have increased in popularity. Senior creditors rely on intercreditor agreements to protect their interests by limiting the rights that junior lien holders would otherwise enjoy as secured creditors through either lien subordination, payment subordination.

This case presents a common scenario and dynamic that a party involved with a distressed bank holding company may have seen in the last several years.

On April 13, 2014, MPM Silicones, LLC and certain debtor affiliates (the Debtors) filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The Debtors filed their plan of reorganization (the Plan) about a month later.

The crux of the issue the District Court considered was the interplay between sections 363(f) and 365(h) of the Bankruptcy Code.