No CLE

The winds of change have blown strongly through the Caribbean recently, with new bankruptcy laws having been passed, or soon to be passed, in many jurisdictions over the last 12-18 months. Two of these new laws were modeled after Canadian law. This panel will examine the provisions of the new laws in broad terms and undertake a brief “compare and contrast” exercise to discuss the new laws in relation to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and restructuring statutes in other Caribbean jurisdictions that take English law as their model.

This panel will explore how to navigate the myriad issues caused by bad-faith chapter 11 filings and will discuss current case law and trends, including how and when a case should be dismissed, whether a business entity can be formed by real estate investors solely to file a chapter 11 bankruptcy, venue-shopping and a host of other issues.

Major cases filed in New York may follow that state’s laws because of the location of the forum, contractual designation or some other reason. But New York law on debtors/creditors, fraudulent transfer, partnership and other areas may be out of date or may depart from the laws of other jurisdictions. Discussion of New York State law issues and recent cases certified to the New York State Court of Appeals, including rent-controlled leaseholds as property rights.

This panel will discuss current issues in the stand-alone asset sale process and propose ways that this process can be improved to address the competing interests of the constituencies in a bankruptcy case.

This panel will review and discuss the Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act, which was signed into law on June 28, 2014. The constitutionality of this Act has already been challenged by at least three separate lawsuits brought by different bondholder groups. A special courtroom has been designated in the San Juan Superior Courthouse, and two judges have been specially designated to deal with any filings brought pursuant to this new Act in the Commonwealth Courts. If Puerto Rico can restructure its debts under this state law, will this be an alternative for other states or jurisdictions? Is an alternative to this Act amending the Bankruptcy Code? Will this Act withstand constitutional challenges?

Judges’ rapid-fire roundtables on today’s provocative issues, with judges changing tables every 20 minutes

Jeffrey N. Pomerantz, Moderator ABI Vice President-Education Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP; Los Angeles Resolved: Curbing pension rights in a chapter 9 case is constitutional. Con: Babette A. Ceccotti Cohen, Weiss & Simon LLP; New York Resolved: Committee member fees are not payable as part of a Chapter 11 plan. Pro: Nan Roberts Eitel Executive Office for U.S. Trustees; Washington, D.C. Con: Dennis F. Dunne Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP; New York Resolved: A chapter 13 debtor may employ § 363 to effect a free-and-clear short sale of his/her principal residence notwithstanding § 1322(b)(2) and the secured creditor’s objection. Pro: Hon. Eugene R. Wedoff U.S. Bankruptcy Court (N.D. Ill.); Chicago Con: Hon. Mary Grace Diehl U.S. Bankruptcy Court (N.D. Ga.); Atlanta

Commission Recommendations on Resolving Court Splits: Coming Soon to a Judicial Opinion Near You ABI's Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 identified more than 30 splits in case law on important issues. Such a split of authority results in delay, increased litigation costs and above all, uncertainty -- imposing a kind of "ambiguity tax" on the system, as one witness put it in testimony before the Commission. The recommendations contained in the Commission's final report, in many cases, can be implemented by judicial opinion at the bankruptcy court or court of appeals level, without need for action by Congress. This program featuring some of the most experienced and thoughtful judges on the bench today, will assess the Commission recommendations, and identify some that might be effected soon.