News & Publications

Rumors of another recession multiplied as the tumultuous second year of the Trump administration came to a close. Highlights of 2018 included a simmering trade war with China; political upheaval after the House of Representatives was retaken by Democrats in the midterm elections; mayhem in financial markets; and, in December, the beginning of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, triggered by lawmakers' refusal to provide $5.7 billion in funding for a U.S.-Mexican border wall. [...]

On Jan. 19, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a bankruptcy court decision awarding Ultra Petroleum Corp. noteholders $201 million in make-whole payments and $186 million in post-petition interest. Under the note agreement, upon a bankruptcy filing, the issuer is obligated for a make-whole amount equal to the discounted value of the remaining scheduled payments (including principal and interest that would be due after prepayment) less the principal amount of [...]

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit — which covers federal courts in North Carolina — recently handed a big victory to lenders whose borrowers file for bankruptcy protection. In SummitBridge National Investments III, LLC v. Faison, the Fourth Circuit held that if a lender's loan documents contain an attorneys' fees provision, then the lender may file a claim for post-petition fees incurred during the bankruptcy.  Since all standard loan documents should have [...]