Audio

When is an individual Chapter 11 a better fit for your client? Think through an individual Chapter 11 plan and spot critical issues that can lead to success. A panel of experienced individual Chapter 11 practitioners will guide you, step by step, through a successful individual Chapter 11 case, and discuss problematic issues and solutions you can implement in your individual Chapter 11. Topics include: · Creating a budget on your schedules · Calculating your plan · Working with the US Trustee’s office · Tax issues · Application of the absolute priority rule · “Deemed” voting · “Reasonable and necessary” expenses · Addressing secured mortgage debts in the plan

Do “Out-of-the-Money” Creditors Have Standing? There are many chapter 11’s filed primarily to sell the collateral for undersecured creditors—meaning that there isn’t any value generated for unsecured creditors or equity. This panel will explore the various issues that result such as basic standing and the appropriateness of forming and maintaining a creditors committee and an equity committee. The panel will also discuss the various arguments put forth to justify a carveout or “gift” for unsecured creditors and the often used “pay-to-play” rule occasionally asserted by out-of-the-money creditor groups. It will also examine ways to identify unencumbered assets early in the case and the possible benefits of keeping them free from post-petition liens granted to DIP Lenders. Lastly, the panel will discuss ways to maximize the Chapter 5 claims and the use of liquidating assets.

Sharing a Piece of the Pie: Gift Plans, Structured Dismissals and Carve-Outs Often bankruptcy is the best way for under-secured creditors to optimize collateral recoveries. But the price for bankruptcy relief is that secured creditors must share their recoveries with out-of-the money constituencies. This panel will explore such sharing arrangements in a variety of contexts–carve outs, gift plans and structured dismissals.

Litigating the Cramdown Rate “Cram down” requires full payment of secured classes. This, in turn, requires a present value analysis of the dividends secured creditors will receive under the plan. This panel will review what debtors and secured creditors need to show to establish a cramdown rate and the nuts-and-bolts evidentiary issues joined by cramdown litigation.

Stern v. Marshall: One Year Later In June 2011, the Supreme Court issued its watershed decision in Stern v. Marshall, restricting the scope of bankruptcy court jurisdiction under Article III of the Constitution. Stern has confounded judges, litigants and commentators alike. Although characterized by the Supreme Court as a “narrow” decision, Stern is proving to have widespread implications, the full extent of which remain to be seen as cases work their way through the bankruptcy, district and appellate courts. This panel will survey the contexts in which Stern has posed issues, the decisions construing and applying Stern in the year since it was decided, and the possible legislative responses to the decision.

What post-BAPCPA issues continue to challenge chapter 13 practitioners, and what challenges lie ahead for debtors, creditors and trustees? This panel will discuss the most recent changes affecting chapter 13 practice: the claims process and Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1, as well as the national settlements involving the largest players in the home mortgage industry.

When issues such as criminal fraud and embezzlement raise their ugly heads and there are potential nondischargeability issues, how do you guide a debtor through bankruptcy while still protecting his right not to incriminate himself? It is a delicate balance that affects all consumer attorneys, trustees and creditors. In this panel, practitioners will discuss strategies to aid in navigating the bankruptcy process when criminal charges are looming. The panel will consist of bankruptcy practitioners, criminal defense counsel and a trustee and will discuss how to help such debtors safely navigate the bumpy legal waters.

As same-sex marriage continues to be sanctioned in states across the county, issues about the treatment of same-sex couples in bankruptcy have emerged. Does the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) limit a joint same-sex couple’s right to seek bankruptcy protection? How do same-sex divorces and support obligations impact the rights and obligations of debtors? And in states where only civil unions are available to same-sex couples, does that distinction lead to a meaningful difference for those seeking bankruptcy protection? This panel will discuss and debate the effect of DOMA on bankruptcy cases, the unique issues facing same-sex debtors and their families, and strategies to get debtors in same-sex relationships the debt relief they need.