Video

The recent insolvencies commenced by multiple shippers and oil and gas companies have raised several issues concerning the interplay of admiralty and insolvency law, especially in light of declining commodity prices and many shippers having either pulled their vessels out of service and/or decommissioned them. These issues include the adjudication of competing claims to assets that may be located either on the water, onboard the ships, or in containers, as well as the intersection of admiralty and insolvency law applicable to oil and gas insolvencies on the competing claims on the assets owned by these companies.

In an environment where business takes place largely without regard to borders, avoidance proceedings can catch suppliers off-guard. This panel will discuss the similarities and differences among local avoidance regimes and the challenges facing suppliers dealing across borders. The panel will also address the issues encountered in attempting to enforce cross-border avoidance judgments. The panelists will also examine the scope by which bankruptcy courts may (and may not) adjudicate avoidance actions under chapter 15, as well as how avoidance actions are administered pursuant to the European Insolvency Regulation and Canadian insolvency legislation.

This panel of judges and insolvency professionals from various jurisdictions will provide insight into inter-court communications and the challenges faced by judges dealing with cross-border insolvency proceedings. The panel will discuss the use of protocols, the American Law Institute’s Guidelines Application to Court-to-Court Communications in Cross Border Cases and more.

This panel will discuss lessons learned from leveraging technology in administering mega-, mid-size and small chapter 11 cases. The panelists will discuss and demonstrate the use of technology in administering chapter 11 cases, including submission of e-proofs of claim and e-ballots, electronic noticing and solicitation, case administration websites, and electronic claims reconciliation. The panel will also address how to improve the efficiency of using such technologies within the context of small or mid-size chapter 11 cases.

Demonstration on how to best use technology when presenting your case in Bankruptcy Court. This panel will include various “how to” demonstrations that include presenting exhibits, highlighting exhibits, etc. Plus, how to best use electronic links in briefs for case citation and other references.

The panel will discuss myriad issues (including ethical issues) that have arisen, and will likely arise in the future, as the current trend of third party litigation funding begins to be a more common funding vehicle in bankruptcy cases.

Judicial Debate Resolved: A debtor must obtain a judgment under chapter 5 of the Bankruptcy Code before it may invoke disallowance of a claim under section 502(d). Business Debate Resolved: Cure and reinstatement of a credit agreement under 1124(2) requires the payment of default interest. Consumer Debate Resolved: Flat fees that are earned upon receipt may not be recovered by chapter 7 trustee upon the rejection of the fee agreement.

Determinations of values are central to virtually every aspect of a consumer bankruptcy case. How should debtors value assets on their schedules? What should they rely on for value, and what is their attorney’s role and responsibility? When are appraisals needed? What weight is given to BPOs and tax statements? What can creditors and trustees do to challenge the debtor’s values? What quotient of evidence do debtors, creditors and trustees need to litigate the value of a creditor’s collateral, a residence in a chapter 13 lien-strip, or a contested abandonment of property in a chapter 7 case, a contested redemption or a contested exemption?

This session will focus on the increasing number of senior citizens filing for bankruptcy. Why are so many elders now filing? What unique challenges do they present? Do their Social Security benefits and pension incomes become available to fund chapter 13 plans? How are reverse mortgages treated in chapters 7 and 13? What happens when an elderly debtor passes away during a chapter 7, 11 or 13 bankruptcy case? What if there is a surviving spouse who is also a joint debtor?

Even beginning creditors’ attorneys know that the automatic stay prevents them from enforcing their clients’ rights to their collateral. But what can they do in chapter 7 and 13 cases, and when should they do it? This session will focus on the basic legal issues facing secured creditors in these consumer cases and the development of effective and economical strategies for dealing with them. What are the legal standards to obtain relief from the automatic stay? What do the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the local bankruptcy rules require as attachments? What must the motion allege, and who has the burden of proof if an objection is made? Do these standards differ in chapters 7 and 13? When is the right time to bring a motion to lift a stay in a chapter 7 or 13 case? Should you seek to have a chapter 7 debtor reaffirm your debt? If a chapter 7 debtor doesn’t reaffirm but just keeps making the payments, what should you tell your client to do? How does § 365(p) work, and do you need to have the court involved? Loan modifications are common in chapter 13, but is there such a thing as a loan modification in a chapter 7? Can the court reopen a case to approve a post-discharge reaffirmation or loan modification in chapter 7? Can a chapter 13 debtor force your client to take property they don’t want by surrendering the property or vesting it in your client?