2014

Use of judges as mediators; when is the right time to mediate?; when will discovery or a ruling on a key issue facilitate mediation?; who should attend?; what information should be exchanged and what should be confidential to the mediator?; possible case study of ResCap mediation or other example

Extension of controlled group liability to fund investors (Sun Capital), foreign affiliates; U.K. pension claims asserted against U.S. debtors (Nortel, Reader’s Digest); allocation of liability among controlled groups; pre-petition vs. post-petition benefits and claim accrual (including withdrawal liability); standards for termination; multi-employer plan withdrawal liability/“last man standing”; Kodak

Challenges posed by lack of precedent on cramdown, good faith, etc.; recent developments/precedents arising out of Vallejo, Stockton, Central Falls, Jefferson County, etc.; labor, pension and OPEB issues (who owns pension plans and assets?); general obligations vs. dedicated revenues vs. secured interests; federal and state constitutional issues (contract modification, pension impairment, imposition of taxation, limitations on spending, etc); state alternatives to chapter 9; selling/privatizing municipal assets; post-confirmation enforceability of taxing and paying agreements (Jefferson County); Oppenheimer AMT-Free Municipals decision; possible updates on Puerto Rico, Detroit; possible discussion of consequences of recent developments to the future of the municipal finance market

Latest post-petition interest litigation, make-whole payments (School Specialty, AMR), OID, etc. (ResCap, KV Pharma); enforceability of intercreditor agreements; class-action certification in bankruptcy (Rodriguez); settlement payments (Quebecor); post-Stern consent to jurisdiction cases (Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits); § 502(d) disallowance under KB Toys; fraudulent transfer update (Tribune, Sentinel)

What is the difference between “market value” and “intrinsic value”?; what is market value, and how is it discerned?; how reliable are various indicia or tests of market value, including: (1) public (or private) bankruptcy trading prices of the debt or equity securities of a debtor, (2) outcome of the bankruptcy sale process and (3) credit-bidding, and when can “market tests” be wrong?; have bankruptcy courts allowed lay perceptions of discernible market value to replace expert testimony and other proofs relevant to § 506 determinations or cramdowns?; how can rights offerings be used and assessed as an indication of value?

Review of GSC case (bankruptcy court decision pending); what are the lessons of GSC for practitioners regarding disclosure, fee sharing, disinterestedness and conflicts, etc?; review of disinterestedness standards under § 101(14) and related disclosure requirements; additional ethics topic might include conflicts waivers (when is it necessary to obtain a waiver? Distinctions may be drawn based on current vs. recent vs. former clients, directly adverse vs. positionally adverse, relatedness to a prior matter, use of confidential information); Brown Publishing

Each affiliated debtor and its creditors have potentially conflicting interests in maximizing assets and minimizing claims, so how are these interests reconciled in multi-debtor cases?; can one board make decisions for all debtors?; when is an independent board or CRO needed to represent the interests of a particular business unit, and why don’t we see that more often?; how should one arrange intercompany DIP financing?; how should one ensure that all constituencies are represented and that key stakeholders are at the table?; should there be multiple creditors’ committees?; use of examiners and other third parties; increased use of motions seeking to disqualify counsel, mediators, etc.

Discussion about unanticipated and anticipated problems in chapter 11 cases in which all or substantially all of the assets are being sold in a § 363 sale; “pay to play” arguments by unsecured creditors; should bankruptcies be run exclusively for the benefit of secured creditors?; presale orders regarding the use of sale proceeds; funding of wind-down costs and payment of administrative claims; post-sale chapter 7 conversions

What are the consequences of using § 9019 settlements as a means of resolving primary intercreditor disputes?; does application of settlement approval standards effectively alter § 1129 standards?; do settlements become sub rosa plans?; is the door open for “involuntary settlements” based on a debtor’s assessment of litigation probabilities?; other related issues might include “gifting” through § 9019 in the Third Circuit vs. the Second Circuit, plan-support agreements, absolute priority rule/new value plan (Castleton Plaza), equitable mootness (Charter/SemCrude); fee reimbursements for participants (Lehman, AMR)

Nortel (involving two courts simultaneously trying allocation issues); Kelmsley (U.S./U.K. courts regarding anti-suit injunction); ABC Learning/Fairfield Sentry (circuit court cases involving chapter 15 recognition); troubled foreign banks’ use of chapter 15 (Anglo Irish, Banco Pontual S.A.); In re Barnet (Octaviar)