Section 546(e) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code limits the avoiding powers of trustees and debtors in possession. 1 Often called the “safe harbor provision,” the purpose of the limitations, as expressed in the legislative history accompanying the 1982 amendment that added this provision to the...

I was the state-appointed emergency manager for the City of Lincoln Park, Michigan, from July 2014 to December 2015. Lincoln Park is a built-out inner ring suburb of Detroit with a population of 38,000. It is primarily a low to moderate income residential community with little industry and a modest...

A customer’s bankruptcy often results in a sharp reduction to the value of the receivables owing from the customer. However, in addition to the drop in asset value, there can also be further liability when the bankruptcy trustee later demands the return of a significant amount of money that the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Code Section 363 asset sales have become a favored bankruptcy alternative to the traditional Chapter 11 reorganization. One big reason is perceived cost savings. Because Section 363 sales generally are concluded much sooner than confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan, the associated...

With the number of corporate bankruptcy filings in the retail industry nearly doubling in 2016 and continuing to climb in 2017, 1 retailers and their legal and financial professionals are faced with innumerable challenges in navigating the corporate bankruptcy process successfully in a streamlined...

Lenders and borrowers alike benefit from reduced risk in loan transactions. One way lenders can reduce their risk is by lending to bankruptcy remote special purpose entities (SPEs), which are typically limited liability companies (LLCs) structured to limit their right to file bankruptcy. The...

Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases generally conclude in one of three ways: a plan, conversion to a liquidation under Chapter 7, or dismissal. Classically, dismissal restores the debtor to its financial condition as of the date it filed bankruptcy, but “for cause” Bankruptcy Courts can order a “structured...

For more than a decade, make-whole premiums, also referred to at times as prepayment premiums, prepayment fees, yield maintenance premiums, or similar terms, have been a common feature in bond indentures and credit agreements. The basic purpose of a make-whole premium is to compensate the investor...

Just as a debtor selling real estate in a bankruptcy proceeding engages a bankruptcy attorney to handle legal work and a financial advisor for management consulting and financial reporting services, the debtor should also engage a real estate advisor who specializes in selling assets in bankruptcy...

As part of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), Congress amended how certain claims for the sale of goods would be treated in Chapter 11 cases by establishing a new category of administrative priority claim under Section 503(b)(9) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code...