Insurance

Insurance carriers are now permitted to participate in the plan-confirmation process, even when a plan is “insurance neutral.” How do recent Supreme Court rulings change the confirmation process, or will the Bankruptcy Code permit debtors to alter the rights of insurance carriers over their objection of insurance and bind them to the terms of the plan? Finally, there are no circuit splits, no nonconsensual third-party releases under a plan — or is the issue still unsettled when the plan “pays claims in full,” and what does it mean to “consent” to a release? Opt-in, opt-out, negative notice: What works? This panel will provide an overview of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc., et al. and Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. and how they impact a debtor’s ability to confirm a plan. The panelists will discuss how debtors and insurance carriers will need to work to address their competing needs. The panelists also will discuss how debtors will address mass-tort bankruptcies without the third-party-release tool or workarounds, and will look to the case law and confirmed plans in circuits where nonconsensual releases are not permitted.

This panel will discuss pending and recently decided Supreme Court cases.

This panel will demystify insurance policies, providing participants with practical advice on how to read and understand them. The panelists will also highlight and explain certain key insurance terms and address how bankruptcy can impact insurance coverage.

This interactive discussion will identify and discuss the issues that attorneys who practice in the insolvency area should comprehend and consider in the complicated interactions between director and officer liability insurance and bankruptcy law. The discussion will also include a review of recent decisions that have an impact in this developing area. The panelists will address the pitfalls and challenges in realizing value on D&O policies; effective approaches for challenging them, including how to interpret policies, what to look for in the policies, and strategies and solutions that address policy exclusions; unique bankruptcy issues; and differences among cases involving trustees and debtors in possession. Audience questions will be solicited in advance.

Hosted by the Young & New Members and Commercial Fraud Committees A frequent element of bankruptcy cases is the assertion of claims against the directors and officers of the debtor, particularly when the debtor has a significant D&O insurance policy. This panel will explore the use of fiduciary-duty litigation in bankruptcy by dissecting the anatomy of a D&O lawsuit, including the types of claims asserted and their possible defenses. The panelists will also discuss how to analyze D&O insurance policies, and such key issues as whether the proceeds of D&O policies are considered property of the estate. Finally, the panelists will highlight best practices for debtors’ counsel faced with such claims, and show how to navigate potential ethical issues.

You learned about it in law school, but have never seen it since. In light of the COVID-19 effects on business operations, this panel will discuss the general applicability of force majeure provisions in contracts, how they excuse or suspend performance, and exceptions to a boilerplate contract provision that we rarely see enforced until recently. The panel will also discuss business interruption insurance in the context of the Pandemic.

With so many tiers of global supply chains and multinational investments being connected to China, financial risk is magnified when there is a widespread interruption, such as the current coronavirus pandemic. Extended disruption of supply chains could lead companies to financial distress and possible bankruptcy. The resulting distress from the disruption could also activate insurance-related claims and litigation, further complicated by interpretations of "force majeure" (unforeseeable circumstances) clauses in insurance policies. A recent Wall Street Journal article detailed how plunging shipping volumes out of China due to shutdowns in the wake of the outbreak have crimped industrial production worldwide. As the coronavirus continues to spread in China and other parts of the world, it is critical for businesses to reassess their connections to global supply chains, evaluate workforce-related issues, and examine risk-minimization and quantization brought about by the pandemic.

This session features a panel discussion of recent developments in commercial cases involving insurance, trademark, WARN Act and marijuana issues.

Recent high-profile cases have been impacted by credit derivatives (e.g., Hovnanian, Sears, Caesars, iHeart). The panelists will discuss how these situations have unfolded and their effects. What pre-filing diligence should a debtor perform in order to be prepared?