By: Matthew S. Smith

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

 

Recently, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in In re Charter Commc’ns held that a creditor’s adversary proceeding for an alleged pre-petition breach of contract was one over which the bankruptcy court could exercise its “core” jurisdiction.[1] In deciding whether the creditor’s claims fell within its core jurisdiction, the court was guided by 28 U.S.C. § 157,[2] which provides a list of matters that are characterized as “core proceedings.”[3]  The creditor, JPMorgan, alleged that debtor, Charter, had committed non-curable, nonmonetary pre-petition defaults under a pre-petition contract, which would prevent Charter from being able to take additional loans as originally provided in their Credit Agreement.[4] Since JPMorgan refused to consent to adjudication in the bankruptcy court, the court focused on “the close interconnection between the adversary proceeding [at issue] and the bankruptcy process.”[5] The court found that the nature of plaintiff JPMorgan’s proceeding directly affected the confirmation of debtor Charter’s chapter 11 bankruptcy plan – a core administrative function of the bankruptcy court – and thus held that the matter came within the court’s core jurisdiction.[6]

 

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By: Cameron Fee

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

 

Recently, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, in In re Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., held that certain consulting agreements negotiated by chapter 11 debtors with former executives were not the type of insider compensation agreements proscribed by section 503(c).[1] After filing for chapter 11, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation entered into resignation agreements with its CEO Rivers and COO Wright. The debtors filed a motion pursuant to section 503(c) for “court authority to purchase time-limited noncompetition agreements,” to prevent Rivers and Wright from soliciting the company’s customers.[2] The trustee argued that the proposed consulting agreements violated section 503(c)(1) because the payments were meant to induce Wright and Rivers to remain with the business. The court, however, found that the agreements were meant to induce Rivers and Wright not to work for a competitor for a limited time and therefore the consulting agreements did not implicate either section 503(c)(1)[3] or 503(c)(2).[4] The court also found—after determining an independent assessment of the circumstances was the appropriate standard of review—that the agreements did not violate section 503(c)(3) because they were justified given the facts and circumstances of the case.[5] 

By: Michael Ryan Diaz

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

 

In ASM Capital, LP v. Ames Department Stores, Inc. (In re Ames Department Stores, Inc.),[1] the Second Circuit held that section 502(d), which disallows claims of a party that has failed to return preferential transfers to the debtor,[2] does not bar payment for administrative expenses under section 503(b).[3] The debtor, Ames Department Stores, Inc. (“Ames”), filed a voluntary petition under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.[4] While in bankruptcy, Ames received a default judgment, for the recovery of preferential transfers,[5] against one of its suppliers, G & A Sales, Inc. (“G & A Sales”).[6] Also facing insolvency, G & A Sales filed a bankruptcy petition and transferred to other entities all of its assets, including two administrative claims against Ames for providing post-petition supplies.[7] These administrative claims were sold to ASM Capital, a distressed-debt investment firm. Meanwhile, Ames’ board of directors eventually decided that liquidation, rather than reorganization, would maximize value for the debtor’s estate.[8] In the midst of liquidation, Ames made distributions for administrative expenses to certain claimants, but withheld payment to ASM Capital on the ground that section 502(d) disallows administrative expense claims that were acquired from a party who had failed to return any preferential transfer or its equivalent value. ASM Capital responded by filing a motion in the bankruptcy court to order the debtor to pay ASM Capital its administrative expense claims. ASM Capital argued that section 502(d) does not apply to administrative expense claims, but the bankruptcy court rejected this argument and denied the motion.[9] Although the district court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s ruling,[10] the Second Circuit reversed and held that section 502(d) does not apply to administrative expense claims.[11] 

By: Bertrand J. Choe

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

 

In In re Arclin U.S. Holding, Inc.,[1] the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware held that a company, subsequent to its chapter 11 petition, was required to continue health insurance premium payments made to a former employee pursuant to a severance agreement. In so doing, the court limited protections for debtors under section 1114 of the Bankruptcy Code,[2] which requires chapter 11 business debtors to continue “retiree benefit” payments post-petition. Six months prior to filing its chapter 11 petition, Arclin U.S. Holding, Inc. (“Arclin” or “debtors”) instituted a reduction in its work force, whereby thirty-nine of its employees, including Steve Phillips, were terminated. Phillips was given a severance package including separation pay, car allowance, and payment of his health insurance premiums. Upon filing for bankruptcy, Arclin discontinued its payments to Phillips, at which point Phillips brought the present suit. The court looked to the plain meaning of section 1114(a), which requires, inter alia, that for benefits to be considered “retiree benefits,” they must be both medical in nature and for retirees.[3] Since the benefits to Phillips included payments for health insurance, the court deemed them to be “medical” within the meaning of section 1114(a). The court further deemed the payments to be for retirees because of Arclin’s own description of the payments as “an early retirement package.”[4]