Plan Confirmation

Subchapter V was supposed to make reorganization simpler, but plan confirmation often remains a complex part of these small chapter 11 cases. This panel addresses some of the key pressure points: plan feasibility, balloting, acceptance and consensuality, post-confirmation stay issues, post-confirmation true-ups, and post-confirmation trustee roles (including payment of trustee fees). These issues can make or break a small business debtor's path to emergence.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify the key pressure points in Subchapter V plan confirmation, including plan feasibility, balloting, and acceptance and consensuality requirements.Attendees will evaluate strategies for navigating post-confirmation issues, including stay considerations, post-confirmation true-ups, and the role of the Subchapter V trustee (including payment of trustee fees).Attendees will apply practical approaches to guiding small business debtors through the plan confirmation process toward successful emergence.

This panel explores the evolving and fact-intensive concept of good faith in chapter 13 bankruptcy, with a focus on plan confirmation and post-confirmation modifications. The panelists examine how courts interpret “good faith” under §§ 1325 and 1329, common red flags that can trigger bad-faith findings, and key strategic considerations for trustees, debtors’ counsel and creditors when modifications are proposed. Through statutory analysis, leading case law and practical examples, the panelists address when plan confirmation calls into question the good faith of the debtor and/or their counsel and proposed modifications cross the line from legitimate adjustment to improper use of the Bankruptcy Code. Topics include income and expense changes, serial or late-stage modifications, treatment of unsecured creditors, disclosure obligations, and the role of debtor conduct before and after confirmation.Learning Objectives:Attendees will understand the good-faith requirements of §§ 1325 and 1329 and how courts evaluate good faith in chapter 13 plan confirmation and post-confirmation modification proceedings.Attendees will identify common factual circumstances and litigation issues that can trigger good-faith challenges, including changes in income and expenses, serial filings, disclosure obligations and debtor conduct.Attendees will analyze recent case law and practical strategies for evaluating, prosecuting or defending plan confirmation and modification disputes involving allegations of bad faith.

This freewheeling, unscripted session, led by ABI’s Editor at Large Bill Rochelle, features three bankruptcy judges (one retired) and an experienced bankruptcy practitioner-turned-law-professor sharing their views on a variety of recent decisions covering a broad spectrum of hot topics in commercial and consumer bankruptcy law. Part of their discussion highlights five (or more) recently decided Supreme Court decisions that every bankruptcy lawyer needs to know about, including issues and questions that some of those decisions left undecided.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify and analyze recent developments, emerging trends, and significant decisions impacting bankruptcy law and practice.Attendees will evaluate the practical implications of current hot-button issues facing debtors, creditors, trustees, and other bankruptcy stakeholders.Attendees will apply insights from recent legal and industry developments to enhance strategic decision-making and client representation in bankruptcy matters.

This session will discuss and analyze key rulings and the strategic implications of recent bankruptcy case law from the Rocky Mountain region, with an emphasis on decisions from courts within the Tenth Circuit.Learning Objectives:Identify and understand significant recent bankruptcy decisions from within the Tenth Circuit.Evaluate how recent rulings affect general practice and case strategy.Apply key caselaw developments to everyday practice to reduce risk and strengthen advocacy in bankruptcy proceedings.

Everyone thinks they have their form plan figured out, but what if there are issues you didn’t think about lurking in your plan? After confirmation, what comes next? What if the plan never actually goes into effect? This panel will help you avoid issues you might not have thought about once that confirmation order is entered.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify common pitfalls and overlooked provisions that can create problems in chapter 11 plans and plan confirmation orders.Attendees will assess post-confirmation risks and challenges, including issues that arise when a confirmed plan fails to become effective.Attendees will implement practical strategies to anticipate and address potential post-confirmation complications before they become case-disrupting problems.

This session will cover adequate protection, non-pro rata roll-ups, equitizing DIPs and more. The panelists will discuss the latest and most crucial DIP-financing issues, the matters most frequently litigated, and their effects on mega-chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.Learning ObjectivesAttendees will understand recent developments in DIP financing, including adequate protection, non-pro rata roll-ups, and equitizing DIP structures.Attendees will examine key issues most frequently litigated in large Chapter 11 cases, including contested DIP terms and structuring disputes.Attendees will analyze emerging trends in DIP financing and their impact on case strategy in mega Chapter 11 proceedings.

This panel will explore recent developments affecting chapter 11 plan confirmation issues, including the evolving standards for consensual releases, gatekeeper provisions, and insights from the ConvergeOne decision. The panelists will also examine the impact of market uncertainty on business projections and analyze chapter 11 plan implications arising from pre-petition liability-management exercises (LMEs).Learning ObjectivesAttendees will understand recent developments in Chapter 11 plan confirmation, including evolving standards for consensual releases, gatekeeper provisions, and key rulings such as ConvergeOne.Attendees will examine the impact of prepetition liability management exercises (LMEs) and market uncertainty on plan structure and business projections.Attendees will analyze practical implications of confirmation-related issues for structuring and negotiating Chapter 11 plans.

Moderated by ABI’s Bill Rochelle, seven bankruptcy judges from New York, Delaware, Houston and New Jersey will predict how the Supreme Court is likely to rule on the most controversial issues in reorganization, Subchapter V and Chapter 13.Learning ObjectivesAttendees will gain insight into how bankruptcy judges view emerging and contentious issues in reorganization cases, Subchapter V, and Chapter 13.Attendees will explore judicial perspectives on how the Supreme Court may approach unresolved or split issues in bankruptcy practice.Attendees will examine practical implications of differing judicial interpretations for debtors, creditors, and case strategy.

In 2024 alone, more than 517,000 bankruptcy cases were filed in the U.S., and bankruptcy judges issued an estimated 521 reported decisions, plus another 1,241 unreported decisions. How many of those cases and issues are you familiar with? You might know what the Supreme Court did in Purdue Pharma, what the Third Circuit did in Boy Scouts, what the Fourth Circuit did in Bestwall, and what bankruptcy courts are doing in cases like Red River Talc, Celsius and FTX, but do you know the latest trends in equitable tolling, chapter 5 avoidance claims and conversion rights? Bill Rochelle and this panel of esteemed bankruptcy judges will be holding a lively discussion of a few critical-but-under-the-radar decisions that you should be reading about but likely are not. You won’t want to miss this educational and eye-opening conversation!

This panel will discuss post-Purdue case developments, including what constitutes “consent” and the role of opt-out releases (Spirit and other recent cases), third-party stays and injunctions, solicitations (Red River Talc), and the role of financial distress in chapter 11 and whether it is too restrictive (LTL). The panelists also will provide an update on where we stand regarding prepacks, nonvoting classes when confirming subchapter V plans (SushiZushi), out-of-court solutions and liability-management exercises.