This session will introduce participants to the very hiogh likelihood that digital assets could be a part of a bankruptcy estate given the rapid growth in the use of digital assets to transact business and in the number of people in the United States that own digital assets. Participants will be made aware of the resources, tools, and professional services available to locate, track, quantify, value and recover digital assets for the bankruptcy estate.
1. Participants will gain a working understanding of blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and other digital assets and their rapid adoption by individuals and businesses.
2. Participants will learn to identify signs that a party may possess digital assets and will be familiar with the resources available to aid in discovering and identifying digital asset ownership.
3. Participants will learn about the techniques and tools available to trace and recover digital asset transactions.
4. Participants will learn the basic issues and challenges in valuing digital assets.
Creditor
The Supreme Court's June 2024 decision in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Company held that insurers qualified as "parties in interest" under Section 1109(b), entitling those insurers to object to a plan of reorganization. This landmark decision is likely to have far-ranging effects in the reorganization world and affect debtors and creditors committees alike. The ABI should host a panel examining the expected extent and impact of those effects, including that:
- debtors and creditors should prepare for the fact that insurance carriers will start getting a seat at the negotiating table;
- the insurance industry may view Truck as not merely granting a seat at the table, but also as an invitation to test the boundaries of its newly granted position;
- Truck presents an existential threat to the already-risky tack of chapter 11 plans' limiting director and officer liability to only insurance proceeds;
- insurance carriers will likely leverage Truck to urge courts in jurisdictions that deem insurance proceeds to be property of the estate to reexamine the status quo; and
- insurance carriers will begin to horse-trade for concessions in connection with first-day motions and debtors' purchasing tail coverage and run-off policies post-petition.
Participants will gain knowledge and skills vital to negotiating insurance-related issues in bankruptcy, such as:
- traps for the unwary in attempting to limit liability in chapter 11 plans to only insurance proceeds;
- how to maximize or minimize Truck's reach in their next plan negotiation, depending on whether their goal is to tout or downplay its effects; and
- how to navigate coverage issues if insurance carriers are granted a seat at the table during their next plan negotiation.
Debtor
