By Francisco Vazquez (US) and Michael Berthiaume (US) on Posted in Bankruptcy Courts,USINSOL International’s latest news update discusses a decision by a court in the Southern District of New York finding that a Cayman Islands liquidation under Section 92(e) of the Companies Act is not a foreign proceeding that can be recognized under Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code. View the article.… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) and Michael Berthiaume (US) on Posted in Bankruptcy Courts,USINSOL International’s latest news update discusses the dismissal of a chapter 15 case and the foreign representative now barred from appearing before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. View the article here INSOL News Update.… Continue Reading
By Michael Berthiaume (US) and Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in Bankruptcy Courts,Financial Restructuring & Insolvency,GlobalChapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code was enacted to, among other things, foster cooperation between courts of the United States and courts of foreign countries “involved in cross-border insolvency cases.” 11 U.S.C. § 1501(a). In furtherance of this mandate, Section 1518 of the Bankruptcy Code requires a foreign representative to inform the US court of… Continue Reading
By Scott Atkins (AU), Eric Daucher (US), Dr. Kai Luck (AU) and Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in Australia,USWith the influx of insolvency cases expected on a global basis in coming months as government support measures are wound back, now is an opportune time for businesses to consider the extent of their potential exposure if a subsidiary liquidates. In particular, can losses be isolated within a liquidating subsidiary, or will there be a contagion… Continue Reading
By Howard Seife (US), Andrew Rosenblatt (US) and Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USOn August 20, 2018, the National Bankruptcy Conference (the “NBC”), a group of bankruptcy judges, professors, and professionals that has consulted with Congress on the drafting of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, sent a letter to Congress proposing a series of amendments to Chapter 15, which governs the process for obtaining recognition of a foreign insolvency… Continue Reading
By Scott Atkins (AU) and Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in Australia,USUnder the English common law rule known as the “Gibbs rule,” a contractual obligation can be changed or discharged only in accordance with the law governing that obligation. Consequently, a debt governed by English law may not be discharged in a foreign insolvency or under a foreign restructuring plan unless the creditor submits to the… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in Latin America,USIt is common for a foreign debtor with assets or other connections to the U.S. to request an order enforcing its restructuring plan in the U.S. under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code. U.S. courts will generally grant comity to a foreign plan if it has been confirmed by a foreign court with jurisdiction and… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in US In a matter of first impression at the Circuit level, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a court may confirm a plan filed on behalf of multiple debtors that has been approved by an impaired class of creditors of only one of the debtors. JPMCC 2007-C1 Grasslawn Lodging,… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USU.S. companies that engage in business in multiple jurisdictions should be mindful of a recent decision by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. In the Chapter 15 case of Energy Coal S.P.A., the bankruptcy court held that U.S. choice of law and forum selection provisions in a contract with a non-U.S.… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USUnder the Bankruptcy Code, a creditor may be reimbursed its actual and necessary expenses in making a “substantial contribution” in a chapter 9 or 11 case. Whether a creditor has made a substantial contribution is a question of fact, but generally requires that a creditor demonstrate a tangible benefit to the estate. It is unlikely… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USChadbourne & Parke LLP currently represents the English liquidators of Hellas Telecommunications (Luxembourg) II SCA, a company that formerly owned one of the largest mobile phone operators in Greece. On behalf of the English liquidators, in 2012 Chadbourne obtained an order from the US Bankruptcy Court from the Southern District of New York granting Chapter… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USAt times, United States courts have been reluctant to grant recognition to foreign proceedings involving offshore “exempted” companies under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code. For example, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York denied a request for recognition of the Cayman Islands liquidation of certain Bear Stearns funds. Following… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USA break-up fee is typically used to encourage a party to act as the initial or “stalking horse” bidder in connection with a sale under section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. Under certain circumstances, a potential debtor may agree to pay a break-up fee to a prospective lender to entice the lender to provide the… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USA bankruptcy court, as a court of equity, is not bound by a party’s characterization of a transaction. This is particularly true with respect to an insider’s advance to a debtor that, while nominally structured as loan, is in essence a disguised equity contribution. In such cases, a bankruptcy court may acknowledge economic realities and… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USUnder section 548(c) of the Bankruptcy Code, a “good faith” transferee may retain any interest received in an otherwise avoidable fraudulent transfer under the Bankruptcy Code “to the extent that such transferee … gave value to the debtor in exchange for such transfer.” To successfully utilize this affirmative defense, a transferee must demonstrate that it… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USOn the heels of the New York District Court’s decision in the Tribune Company fraudulent conveyance litigation, the New York Bankruptcy Court has similarly held that section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, which protects settlement payments from fraudulent transfer claims brought by a bankruptcy trustee under the Bankruptcy Code, does not preclude individual creditors, or… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USIn a United States bankruptcy case, licensees of intellectual property are granted certain protections under Bankruptcy Code section 365(n) if a debtor rejects (terminates) the license. These protections, however, are not guaranteed when the debtor licensor is subject to a foreign insolvency proceeding. Nevertheless, as previously reported in the February 2012 issue of the International… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USChapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code provides a relatively straightforward procedure to obtain recognition of a “foreign proceeding” in the United States. In particular, a foreign proceeding shall be recognized if (1) the foreign proceeding is a foreign main or foreign nonmain proceeding, (2) the petition for recognition was filed by a foreign representative and… Continue Reading
By Francisco Vazquez (US) on Posted in USSection 502(d) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that “any claim of any entity from which property is recoverable” by a debtor’s estate shall be disallowed unless the entity has turned over such property to the estate. As we previously discussed in Can A Claims Purchaser Acquire Claims Free of Defects? in the International Restructuring Newswire… Continue Reading
