If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But does that age-old maxim apply to a bankrupt customer offering to pay you 100% of your unsecured claim through a “prepackaged” bankruptcy or under a critical vendor program?
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Bankruptcy
Mission Products v Tempnology – Supreme Court Declines to “Vaporize” Licensee’s Rights Under Rejected Trademark License Agreement
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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…
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The Devil’s Triang(ular Setoff) – Delaware Judge Rejects Corporate Parent’s Attempt to Set Off Debt Owed to Subsidiary
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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 …
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Square Peg / Round Hole – The Supreme Court and the Constitutional Authority of U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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…
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A Patent Law Dispute Before the Supreme Court This Term Could Have a Major Impact on U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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…
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Judge Silverstein’s Opinion in Millennium Lab Holdings Threatens to Bring Clarity and Common Sense to Debate Regarding Constitutional Power of Bankruptcy Courts
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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. …
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Could Supreme Court Case on Debt Recharacterization Provide a Pathway Out of the Stern v. Marshall Maze?
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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…
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Millennium Lab Holdings – Ruling on Third Party Releases Highlights Continuing Constitutional Questions Regarding Power of Bankruptcy Courts
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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…
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Landlords Beware: Lease Terminations May Be Voidable In Bankruptcy
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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…
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Supreme Court Decides to Maintain the Viability of the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, But a Key Question Remains Unresolved
By Ben Feder on
Posted in Bankruptcy
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…
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