News & Publications

An important decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit may significantly impact withdrawal liability assessments.  In Sofco Erectors, Inc. v. Trustees of the Ohio Operating Engineers Pension Fund,1 the Court held that the pension fund could not utilize the "Segal Blend" interest rate to calculate the employer's withdrawal liability.  In so doing, the Sofco Court stated that the Segal Blend rate was based on a hypothetical rate of return that did not accurately reflect [...]

Highlights A bankruptcy filing by a single construction project participant can cause a chain reaction in which payments aren't met, leading to financial distress, impacts to project payment systems and completion schedules, and/or bankruptcy for other participants. In addition, the bankruptcy trustee administering the case has the ability to claw back or demand the return of all payments made by the debtor to third parties in a 90-day period prior to the date the debtor's [...]

Shopko... Briggs & Stratton... Appvion (formerly Appleton Papers)... Harnischfeger... Bon-Ton... JHT Holdings... Arandell... Golden Guernsey Dairy. We tend to think of these companies as our own—Wisconsin-based, some with storied traditions here, employers of family members and friends—but all of them have one thing in common: they filed for bankruptcy protection in another state. Recently proposed congressional legislation aims to reduce the number of such extraterritorial filings. Current Bankruptcy Venue Law The venue, or location of [...]