Bankruptcy Litigation

This session will discuss the broader policy debate on the usefulness, functionality and policy issues of examiners and trustees in chapter 11. ➤ Bankruptcy examiners drive up the cost of the bankruptcy process and generally do not deliver benefits that justify their expense and distraction. ➤ Bankruptcy examiners play an important role in ensuring the integrity of the bankruptcy process and should be appointed more regularly. ➤ Typically, it should be the role of an official committee, rather than an examiner, to investigate estate causes of action in circumstances that implicate the debtor’s insiders such that the debtor is conflicted.

This panel will discuss pre-bankruptcy planning in the wake of In re LTL Management. What must you do? What may you do? What are the limits?

Topics: Four Legislative Changes for Third-Party Releases “DIP Order Creep”: What Can You Get Now? “Person Aggrieved” and Bankruptcy Appeals State of the Market

This session will provide opportunities for discussion and interaction with an exciting panel of judges from around the country.

This session will discuss recent appellate decisions in the areas of mootness, the solvent-debtor exception, mass torts and tribal immunity.

Hosted by ABI's Bankruptcy Litigation Committee The panelists will discuss the pros and cons of seeking the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee, effective strategies to prosecute and defend motions to appoint a trustee, and the current state of the case law surrounding such motions.

This session will provide a general overview of the involuntary bankruptcy process, and will drill down into what it means for a claim “not to be subject to a bona fide dispute," what happens or does not happen during the “gap period,” soliciting and adding creditors to the petition, and the ramifications of when an involuntary filing is dismissed for bad faith.

This panel will present a mock trial focusing on valuation, with the panelists serving as counsel arguing each side, and as a witness and a judge. The session will cover direct and cross-examination topics that come into play with valuations, including expert witness issues, applicable evidentiary rules and procedural aspects.

This panel will discuss four topics of interest, paying particular attention to litigation strategy and tactics with respect to each. First, we will examine stays pending appeal, particularly stays pending appeals of confirmation orders, including the current state of equitable mootness law in the Second Circuit and elsewhere; when and how to move for a stay; whether and how to make a record at the confirmation hearing to support a later stay motion, and what to do about the bond requirement. Second, we will consider LTL and the standard for dismissal, as well as the importance of making an evidentiary record to support good faith and insolvency on filing. Third, we will consider challenges to the retention of professionals, particularly what standard should govern when a debtor seeks to retain lawyers, investment bankers and other professionals. Should it be the existence of “interests adverse to the estate” or “disinterestedness,” or some combination of the two? We will consider, among other cases, SAS and FTX. Finally, we will consider venue. What are the appropriate criteria that should be considered and relied upon by the debtor when choosing venue and by other parties in interest when challenging the debtor’s choice? How clear or blurry is the line between legitimate strategy and litigation tactics?