News & Publications

The Bottom Line The Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Mississippi (the "Court"), in In re Franchise Services of North America, Inc., Case No. 1702316EE (Bankr. S.D. Miss. Dec. 18, 2017), upheld the blocking power held by a "substantial equity holder", prohibiting a company from filing bankruptcy, as "valid enforceable and . . . not contrary to public policy under federal law." Two affiliated parties moved for the dismissal of the bankruptcy case as [...]

The Bottom Line Third-party releases attract significant attention and debate in Chapter 11 cases. A Southern District of New York bankruptcy court recently weighed in on this hot topic and issued a decision in In re SunEdison, Inc., et al., Case No. 16-10992 (SMB) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Nov. 8, 2017), Docket No. 4253, that deals a blow to debtors seeking confirmation of a plan of reorganization that includes broad non-consensual third-party releases. In his decision, Judge [...]

In a rare bipartisan moment, Congress overwhelmingly passed and the President signed into law on October 25 the Family Farmer Bankruptcy Clarification Act of 2017. This legislation makes it easier for family farmers to reorganize under Chapter 12. This is also good news for agricultural creditors who may now receive payments from Chapter 12 debtors that previously would have been earmarked for the Internal Revenue Service. The problem Many family farmers are forced to sell [...]