Business

Plenary Session

Consumer Track: The Appellate Process This panel will explore recent issues in appellate practice that are of interest to both consumer and business practitioners, including the ability to bypass intermediary appellate courts and take appeals directly to the circuit courts.

The absolute priority rule: trials and tribulations of new value. Cram down issues with 1111(b)(2) and Pacific Lumber. Practical considerations when litigating non-debtor releases.

Administrative Order No. 12-05 requires all Chapter 13 cases filed in the Eastern District of Michigan to use the new Model Plan 3.0. Panelists will discuss the challenges presented by the new form Plan, common alterations and strategies for Plan proponents, and observations from the office of the Chapter 13 Trustee following nearly a year of administering the new Plan.

Much has changed in the world of corporate restructuring since the Bankruptcy Code was passed in 1978. ABI's review commission has been operating since last April, gathering information about whether and how corporate bankruptcy law could be reformed to make the process more effective and result in greater maximization of values for all stakeholders. Hear about the process, and the policies under review, from the Commission co-chair and three others from the 20-member Commission.

This program will focus on the legal and business challenges that faced counsel to a debtor, secured lenders and franchisor in a hotly litigated, modest-sized Chapter 11 in Massachusetts involving a two-tiered ownership of six Planet Fitness franchisees. Filed in 2010 and ending with a confirmed plan in 2012, the case involved shifting allegiances, successive plans, alternative considerations of an asset sale vs a change in equity ownership depending on litigation with the franchisor, and a plethora of challenging issues, including (i) the contested settlement of litigation challenges to one secured creditor, (ii) the potential cram-down of a second secured creditor, (iii) the treatment of leases intended as security, (iv) disputed feasibility, (v) the ability to assume (and assign) the franchise agreements, (vi) whether the franchisor’s right of first refusal was enforceable, (vii) whether de-branding is a real alternative to a continuation of the franchise, (viii) whether the franchisor’s rights were waived during the case, and (ix) claims estimation. See In re Chicago Investments, LLC, 470 B.R. 32 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2012).

This panel will address current developments and improvements in DIP financing, including incurring credit in the ordinary course, priming liens, fairness, adequate protection, loan fees, mootness and good faith.

IP experts will shed light on the mysteries of understanding IP law and navigating the often puzzling sales processes, drawing from their experiences in Nortel, Kodak and other important cases.

Was the deal ill-conceived? Was the borrower undercapitalized/overleveraged? Was it the victim of intervening circumstances and unforeseeable events? In today’s covenant-light world, more financial players and operating companies’ owners are availing themselves of relatively accessible credit facilities to cash in on the perceived value of entities with attractive balance sheets. But what happens if the company later fails and ends up in bankruptcy? Are redeeming shareholders really supposed to be the guarantors of the deal’s success?