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Section 547(c)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code, often referred to as the “subjective OCB defense,” provides a defense to a preference suit if the defendant can show that the challenged payments made during the 90-day preference period are sufficiently consistent with the historical payments made by the debtor to the defendant.

Trade creditors will undoubtedly want to take steps to protect themselves when dealing with financially distressed customers that are potentially heading toward bankruptcy — such as by decreasing credit limits, tightening payment terms or otherwise ramping up collection efforts. However, those same steps may come with the unintended consequence of compromising a creditor’s ordinary-course-of-business defense in the event that the customer files bankruptcy and the creditor is sued for a preference claim. This catch-22 was recently exemplified by a January 2022 decision in the U.S.

Under the Bankruptcy Code, the U.S. Trustee [1] has the power to appoint a committee. [2] Section 1102(a)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code requires U.S. Trustees to appoint a committee of creditors holding unsecured claims in all cases “as soon as practicable after the order for relief....” [3]