Asset Sales

The more things change with intercreditor agreements, the more they stay the same — or so it seems. The interpretation and enforcement of intercreditor agreements continues to take center stage in many cases (high-profile and otherwise), and each decision seems to equally shed more light and raise more questions about intercreditor agreements in the bankruptcy context. This panel will focus on the recent Momentiveand TXU decisions, including the enforcement (or not) of make-whole provisions, acceleration and de-acceleration, and the use of tender offers/settlements to effect the payoffs of first-lien lenders. The panel will also examine the current trends in drafting and enforcement of various provisions, including voting assignments, pre-bankruptcy waivers and more.

No bankruptcy lawyer can represent a high-tech debtor or a business that licenses consumer brands without understanding the interplay of intellectual property law and the Bankruptcy Code. For reorganizations with intellectual property issues, choice of venue is a critical early decision that can determine the outcome of a case. This program will review the circuit-level split over the Catapult doctrine and discuss contractual and litigation solutions for the reorganization of debtor businesses that are dependent on critical patent inbound licenses. The program will review the limits of protections for nondebtor patent and copyright licensees under Bankruptcy Code § 365(n) and will discuss the recent circuit-level split over the effect of contract rejection on the rights of nondebtor trademark licensees.

Just what is and is not property of the estate? This panel will present a thorough review of § 541 and its application in real-world situations.

This program analyzes the practical aspects of asset protection planning (i.e., what works and what does not). The program discusses practical goals and limitations of asset protection, including exposure points related to avoidance actions under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act and Bankruptcy Code. The program will discuss various structures utilized, as well as the practical implications of such planning.

Does a secure creditor engage in inequitable conduct if it acquires debt, or makes a loan with the intent to acquire the debtor rather than collect on the loan? This panel will discuss “Loan-to-Own” and other common and singular Section 363 bidding and acquisition strategies, including the pitfalls and advances of each.

Constitutional and bankruptcy law issues raised by post-bankruptcy claims asserted by tort claimants, including finality of § 363 sale orders and due process.

Recent decades have seen substantial expansion in exemptions from the Bankruptcy Code’s provisions with respect to repurchase agreements, or “repos.” These agreements, which are equivalent to very-short-term (often one-day) secured loans, are exempt from such core bankruptcy provisions as the automatic stay, the avoidability of fraudulent transfers and the avoidability of preferences. Recent scholarship has questioned whether these exemptions are justified for mortgage-backed securities and other securities that could prove illiquid or unable to realize their long-term value in the event of the kind of panic experienced during the financial crisis of 2007-09. This panel will explore the arguments for and against revising the Bankruptcy Code’s existing treatment of these agreements.

This panel will explore how chapter 11 cases are currently being resolved, as many have not been going through a restructuring or reorganization. Structured dismissals, chapter 7 conversions, sale processes, liquidating trusts and other resolutions will be discussed.

Don’t Restrict My Sale: The Enforceability of Restrictive Covenants and Easements in Assets Sales in Bankruptcy

Judges’ rapid-fire roundtables on today’s provocative issues, with judges changing tables every 20 minutes