Business Reorganization

Sponsored by SierraConstellation Partners, LLC

This panel of Eighth and Tenth Circuit bankruptcy judges will discuss several recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Eighth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals and Bankruptcy Appellate Panels, and elsewhere that are likely to impact your bankruptcy practice.

Two pairs of judges square off to consider (1) whether bankruptcies can be properly filed when a debtor faces a deluge of potential tort claims and (2) whether bankruptcy courts can support plans regarding certain special fee and financing arrangements for debtors. RESOLVED: That a bankruptcy is filed in good faith where the debtor is not otherwise in immediate financial distress and appears to have the liquidity to pay its creditors in full, but where the case is filed because of the debtor is a defendant facing a deluge of tort claims that could at some point threaten the debtor’s business and where the debtor believes that the mechanism for liquidating those claims through a trust created under a plan of reorganization will be fairer and better for all parties than the results that would otherwise obtain in the tort system. RESOLVED: That a bankruptcy court may approve a DIP financing agreement that incorporates the milestones set out in a restructuring support agreement, that provides that (a) the debtors will propose a plan that provides specified treatment to the Supporting Parties, which treatment is materially the same as the plan provides to similarly situated creditors; (b) obligates the Supporting Parties to vote in favor of the debtor’s plan and to vote against any competing plan; and (c) provides that the Supporting Parties (and only the supporting parties) will provide exit financing to the Reorganized Debtors, at rates and fees that exceed prevailing market terms.

Filing a bankruptcy petition is not always a viable option or the best solution. This panel will explore alternative avenues for distressed companies, including receiverships, assignments for the benefit of creditors and Article 9 foreclosures, as well as when a bankruptcy filing is the most effective tool. Learn what factors should be considered in evaluating the various options and what the benefits and drawbacks of each alternative are.

Unsecured creditors (and official creditor committees) may appear hopelessly “out of the money” at the beginning of a case, but how may they most effectively and most responsibly assert their interests throughout the case to win a recovery? This panel addresses this question and more.

This panel will briefly review the current state of third-party releases, then discuss/debate different ways and mechanisms to potentially remedy the issues that have been highlighted by (or that have bothered) various courts around the country.

This panel will provide an overview and discussion on the most recent bankruptcy decisions and changes to official guidelines and legislation impacting bankruptcy practice today. The case law discussion will cover the most recent bankruptcy opinions from the Supreme Court and Circuit Courts of Appeals as well as Bankruptcy and District Court opinions of note. The panel will provide thorough summaries of these cases and changes to other bankruptcy-specific rules, laws, and regulations as well as discuss the larger implications of these new precedents and changes on current practice and future bankruptcy trends.