Business Reorganization

In light of the recent downturn in the energy markets, this panel will provide an update on recent developments in coal and oil & gas chapter 11 cases, including contract issues, § 1113/1114 litigation, treatment of environmental obligations, KERPs and KEIPs, surety bonds, perfection and credit bidding issues, and “cherry-picking” of good assets in § 363 sales.

This panel will explore current chapter 11 issues from case inception to exit and will discuss current case law and trends, including nonconventional financing obstacles, the ability of a lender to obtain default interest post-petition, plan-support agreements, structured dismissals, cramdown interest rates, third-party releases and the erosion of the equitable mootness doctrine on appeal.

This session is a nonlegal overview of the current state of the coal and oil & gas industries and will provide a primer on terminology, extraction methods and related industries. It will also address how energy workouts and restructurings are different from traditional restructurings, and why (with a particular focus on how these companies are financed and their operations are structured — i.e., lease rights, management/servicing agreements, etc.).

This program will explore current hot-button topics relating to the drafting and confirmation of chapter 11 plans. The issues discussed will including drafting to accommodate, as well as to either encourage or discourage § 1111(b) elections, and the strategy of holders of secured claims in either making or not making that election. It will also include a discussion of third-party releases and injunctions, using recent cases in the First Circuit to illustrate when such releases are, and are not, appropriate. Finally, the panel will explore the tension between class-skipping carve-outs or “gifts” and the requirements of confirmation, how to deal with corporate debt defined by § 1141(d)(6) as being not dischargeable, compensation of committee members and the role of existing equity.

Oil, gas and energy are the hottest areas in bankruptcy right now. As this is an industry that suffers from volatile market conditions, with its earnings linked to ever-depleting reserves, companies involved in or dependent on the exploration, development and production of oil and gas present unique issues for the bankruptcy practitioner. This panel will include the viewpoints of legal professionals from both the debtor and the creditor sides, an economist focused on the oil and gas sector, and a trust administrator with a large energy portfolio under management. The presentation will start with an introduction to oil and gas chapter 11 cases, identifying the players, the lexicon and the deal documents. The focus will then turn to the impact of the Bankruptcy Code on title to oil and gas interests, liens that can interfere with the estate’s rights, determination about whether oil and gas industry contracts are executory contracts (including assumption or rejection of midstream gathering agreements and oil and gas leases), the impact of § 541(b)(4) provisions that exclude from property of the estate certain rights of holders of farmed-out agreements and production payments, and plugging and abandonment obligations. Finally, the panel will discuss how the industry got to its present state, its outlook going forward, and how market turmoil has impacted related sectors such as power generation.

This program will explore the boundaries of the sub rosa plan doctrine in a variety of contexts potentially arising in chapter 11 cases. The focus will be on efforts to resolve the relationship of the debtor to all or many of its creditor constituencies and equity-holders that arguably deviate from the priority and procedural schemes of the Bankruptcy Code. Included among the areas examined will be (1) secured creditor/acquirer carve-out and/or gifting agreements, (2) structured dismissals following § 363 sales, (3) settlements of significant or global controversies, (4) lock-up and plan-support agreements, and (5) significant distribution or settlement arrangements made in the context of DIP financing or asset sales made jointly with nondebtor parties.

This panel will present a lively discussion of key issues decided in business and consumer bankruptcy cases throughout the country over the past year.

This panel will provide a brief, general overview of the mechanics and statutory framework for involuntary bankruptcies, with more in-depth discussions of current hot-button issues, including petitioning creditors’ good faith/bad faith, the conflicting approaches taken by various circuits in determining whether a petitioning creditor’s claim is subject to a bona fide dispute, and the potential legal fees and damage claims petitioning creditors face if their involuntary petition is ultimately dismissed.

In light of the recent downturn in the energy markets, this panel will provide an update on recent developments in coal and oil & gas chapter 11 cases, including contract issues, § 1113/1114 litigation, treatment of environmental obligations, KERPs and KEIPs, surety bonds, perfection and credit bidding issues, and “cherry-picking” of good assets in § 363 sales.

This panel will explore current chapter 11 issues from case inception to exit and will discuss current case law and trends, including nonconventional financing obstacles, the ability of a lender to obtain default interest post-petition, plan-support agreements, structured dismissals, cramdown interest rates, third-party releases and the erosion of the equitable mootness doctrine on appeal.