The Supreme Court this week resolved a long-standing open issue regarding the treatment of trademark license rights in bankruptcy proceedings. The Court ruled in favor of Mission Products, a licensee under a trademark license agreement that had been rejected in the chapter 11 case of Tempnology, the debtor-licensor, determining that the rejection constituted a breach … Continue Reading
Few issues in bankruptcy create as much contention as disputes regarding the right of setoff. This was recently highlighted by a decision in the chapter 11 case of Orexigen Therapeutics in the District of Delaware. Judge Kevin Gross denied a motion to allow a “triangular” setoff, whereby a corporate parent sought to have an obligation … Continue Reading
The judicial power of the United States is vested in courts created under Article III of the Constitution. However, Congress created the current bankruptcy court system over 40 years ago pursuant to Article I of the Constitution rather than under Article III. The Supreme Court has long held that Article I courts are limited to … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a patent dispute case, Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC. Although the case has nothing to do with bankruptcy law, its outcome could have a substantial impact on bankruptcy practice and litigation. Oil States Energy concerns the limits of Congress’s ability to create courts … Continue Reading
In December 2015, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Laurie Silverstein of the District of Delaware confirmed a plan of reorganization in the Millennium Lab Holdings chapter 11 case that included the non-consensual release of certain claims against various non-debtor third parties. Earlier this year, ruling on an appeal from that decision, U.S. District Court Judge Leonard … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in PEM Entities LLC v. Levin, in which it will decide whether federal or a state law should apply when a debt claim held by a debtor’s insider is sought to be recharacterized in bankruptcy as a capital contribution and treated as equity. The case raises important questions about … Continue Reading
In Millennium Lab Holdings, Delaware District Court Judge Leonard Stark, on an appeal from a bankruptcy court order confirming a plan of reorganization, recently upheld a challenge to the bankruptcy court’s constitutional authority to release claims against non-debtor third parties under the plan. Judge Stark’s opinion demonstrates the extent to which the constitutional questions raised … Continue Reading
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed down a decision with significant implications for landlords contemplating lease termination agreements with distressed tenants. Ruling on a direct appeal in the chapter 11 case In re Great Lakes Quick Lube LP, the court held that a lease termination agreement between a landlord and a financially distressed … Continue Reading
Four years ago, in Stern v. Marshall, the Supreme Court stunned many observers by re-visiting separation of powers issues regarding the jurisdiction of the United States bankruptcy courts that most legal scholars had viewed as long settled. Stern significantly reduced the authority of bankruptcy courts, and bankruptcy judges and practitioners both have since been grappling … Continue Reading
Kelley Drye is pleased to announce that special counsel Jason R. Adams has been honored by Law360 as one of the “Rising Stars” in bankruptcy law for 2015, which recognizes top legal talent across the United States under the age of 40. As one of the nine honorees in the bankruptcy category, Mr. Adams was … Continue Reading
There were nearly a million bankruptcy cases filed by individuals and businesses in 2014. It is safe to say that only the tiniest fraction of such debtors have any familiarity with the Supreme Court’s decision in Stern v. Marshall nearly four years ago. (If they do, it almost assuredly is only because the case arose … Continue Reading
Three years ago, in Stern v. Marshall, a case that arose out of the endless litigation between Anna Nicole Smith and the son of her late husband, the Supreme Court stunned the commercial legal community by reopening what many had believed were long-settled questions regarding the constitutionality of the United States bankruptcy courts. Although the … Continue Reading
Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York last week ruled that the U.S. Bankruptcy Code does not permit a bankruptcy trustee to recover foreign transfers. Specifically, Judge Rakoff refused to allow Irving Picard, the trustee of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”), to recoup monies initially transferred from BLMIS to … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday, in Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkinson, limited somewhat the ramifications of its landmark opinion two years ago in Stern v. Marshall. The Court in Executive Benefits could have thrown the entire federal bankruptcy court system into disarray by advancing Stern’s hard line view on the limited powers of Article … Continue Reading
A parochial elementary school and high school were recently sued in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York by Robert Geltzer, a bankruptcy trustee. The suits, Geltzer v. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Benedicta School and Geltzer v. Xavarian High School, were brought in an effort to recover tuition payments made … Continue Reading
Two months from now will bring the five year anniversary of the unraveling of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, one of the bookends, along with the collapse of Lehman Brothers., of the extraordinary Fall of 2008. To date, Trustee Irving Picard has recovered over $9.5 billion through litigation and settlements and distributed over $4.7 billion to former … Continue Reading
Two years ago in Stern v Marshall, the Supreme Court surprised many observers by placing constitutional limits on the jurisdiction of the United States Bankruptcy Courts. The Court, in limiting the ability of a bankruptcy court judge to render a final judgment on a counterclaim against a party who had filed a claim against a debtor’s … Continue Reading
At the end of the day, Picard really did not have a case, but there was no way that Wilpon and Katz could risk a trial. It looks to be a fair and reasonable outcome. http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7708498/new-york-mets-settle-madoff-trustee-162-million … Continue Reading
On the surface, Irving Picard, the trustee of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”), had a very good day. Judge Jed S. Rakoff granted Picard’s motion for summary judgment against Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the owners of the New York Mets, and their families and affiliated enterprises (the “Wilpon/Katz Group”) with respect to the … Continue Reading
Irving Picard, the trustee of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”), and Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the owners of the New York Mets, and their families and affiliated enterprises (the “Wilpon/Katz Group”), each submitted their final arguments last week in support of their respective motions for summary judgment. As previously discussed on this site, … Continue Reading
The adversary proceeding of Irving Picard, the trustee of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”), against Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the owners of the New York Mets, and their families and affiliated enterprises (the “Wilpon/Katz Group”), could be substantially resolved over the next few weeks. Although the trial is scheduled to begin on March … Continue Reading
Judge Jed S. Rakoff this week denied the request of Irving Picard, the trustee of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”), to pursue an immediate appeal of Judge Rakoff’s recent decision to dismiss most of the counts set forth in Picard’s adversary proceeding against Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the owners of the New … Continue Reading
The travails of Jefferson County, Alabama are well known. Ordered by a federal court to upgrade its sewer system in the late 1990’s, the project was marred by corruption, cost overruns and financing with complex derivatives that ultimately saddled the County with over $3 billion in debt. In addition, an occupational tax that provided the primary source … Continue Reading
Judge Jed S. Rakoff last week largely sided with Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the owners of the New York Mets, and their families and affiliated enterprises (the “Wilpon/Katz Group”) on their motion to dismiss the adversary proceeding brought by Irving Picard, the trustee of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”). Judge Rakoff’s decision will … Continue Reading
