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If a solvent chapter 11 debtor designates creditors as unimpaired, what rate of post-petition interest must the debtor pay those creditors? That question has divided bankruptcy courts. Some have held that a plan must pay unimpaired creditors post-petition interest at the contract rate.
“It’s like déjà vu all over again.” — Yogi Berra
I’m a creature of habit, to be sure. It wouldn’t be the holidays without talking about a classic holiday movie: Frank Capra’s 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s the story of George Bailey, who inherits the Bailey Building & Loan Association founded by his father in the 1940s, and who forgoes his dreams of traveling the world to instead help the multicultural residents of fictional Bedford Falls, N.Y., realize the dream of home ownership.
A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals addresses an issue previously addressed by only one other circuit court and should be welcome news for preference defendants asserting a “subsequent new value” defense while also having a § 503(b)(9) claim. In the case of Auriga Polymers Inc. v.
In enacting the Bankruptcy Code in 1978, Congress recognized, as public policy, a need to ensure that professional services provided to a trustee or debtor in possession were provided by skilled, competent professionals. This policy is codified in the Bankruptcy Code’s sections relating to the employment and compensation of estate professionals (§§ 327, 328 and 330), which overruled the judicially fashioned doctrine of “economy of the estate” applicable under the Bankruptcy Act. These sections were crafted to ensure adequate, predictable compensation for estate professionals.
In an opinion issued on January 13, 2022, Judge David Novak of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia struck down non-consensual third-party releases [2] from a plan confirmed by the bankruptcy court.
In bankruptcy, a debtor-in-possession’s chief goal is to get its plan of reorganization confirmed by the bankruptcy court. [1] Among other things, the Bankruptcy Code requires that at least one class of impaired creditors vote to accept the plan — i.e., that at least two-thirds in amount and one-half in number of the allowed claims in such class accept the plan.
Seeking relief under the Bankruptcy Code is a common method of restructuring a business pushed into insolvency by tort claims. Under current law, filing a petition under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code allows a business to stay all litigation against it and propose a plan of reorganization that channels tort claims to a settlement trust for valuation and payment. Many plans provide for the funding of the settlement trust through the proceeds of a debtor’s insurance policies and contributions from the debtor and third parties.
Since going effective on Feb. 19, 2020, much has been written regarding the restructuring benefits of a chapter 11, subchapter V case. Prior to its implementation, many small businesses were, from a practical standpoint, unable to benefit from chapter 11 due to the expense of filing and prosecuting a traditional chapter 11 case. The introduction of subchapter V has shifted that, thus giving smaller businesses a streamlined process to recognize the benefits of a chapter 11 restructuring.
