On June 7, 2024, Bernard Condon, an Associated Press reporter, authored the article, “Zombies: Ranks of world’s most debt-hobbled companies are soaring, and not all will survive.”

Condon’s article details zombie companies (Zs) so laden with debt that they are on the brink of collapse, barely able to pay even the interest on their loans. They

In one of the most publicized terms for the U.S. Supreme Court, one June decision has not received the attention it deserves: Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Company Inc.

Truck upends decades of Chapter 11 bankruptcy jurisprudence that often relegated a debtor’s insurer to the sidelines, even if the insurer had financial responsibility under the

On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a $6 billion bankruptcy settlement in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L. P., No. 23-124, 2024 WL 3187799, at *11 (U.S. June 27, 2024). The Court found that the Bankruptcy Code does not support a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan over the objection of claimants, that shields the

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 6, 2024, held that an insurer with a financial responsibility for bankruptcy claims is a party in interest and has standing to raise and be heard on issues in a Chapter 11 proceeding.

In Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gyspum Co., Inc., et al., No. 22-1079, the Supreme Court

Recent bankruptcy rulings upended the notion that bankruptcy protections are only for insolvent debtors.

In two different cases, two U.S. bankruptcy judges from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina reached the same conclusion: Lack of financial distress is not a requirement for bankruptcy protection, and the court has constitutional subject

Recently, a bankruptcy judge denied a request by a creditors’ committee to sue the insurers of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre (the “Debtor”).

The judge found that the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors’ (the “Committee’s”) request to proceed with the action was baseless since no settlement had been reached and the Committee’s entire

This article addresses the “Texas Two-Step” litigation strategy when it comes to bankruptcy and discusses whether this strategy of utilizing the Chapter 11 process to handle mass tort litigation claims is fair, effective and will survive the scrutiny of the courts.

Mass-tort bankruptcy cases have been capturing headlines recently. Everyday household names have sought bankruptcy

Companies facing multidistrict litigation mass tort exposure have been utilizing a new technique to protect themselves and their related entities from mass tort claims.

Known as the Texas Two-Step, this creative use of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code gives related entities the benefit of the automatic stay without those companies having to file for Chapter 11

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court issued a decision that all business owners should be aware of. The Supreme Court resolved a Circuit split over whether a debtor can discharge a debt incurred by a fraud committed by the debtor’s business partner or agent. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that such a debt

For some time, bankruptcy courts wrestled over whether creditors violated the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay provision under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(3) by creditors’ passive retention of a debtor’s property once a debtor files for bankruptcy. Last year, in City of Chicago v. Fulton[1] the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion that puts this issue to

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic shutdown, we have counseled our clients about how they can protect their rights as creditors once the economy begins to ramp up again. We have also advised them on how to make sure that they do not end up in their own perilous financial situation.

Indeed, you

Jim Lagios, Bob Iseman and Stu Gordon wrote an article for Law360 regarding the impact of coronavirus on the financial well-being of hospitals and health systems. To read the article, click on the link below.

Tenn. Hospital Bankruptcy May Be The First Of Many

The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, contains a component that will quickly provide businesses with loans to compensate for lost revenues due to COVID-19.

The Paycheck Protection Program is making $349 billion available to small businesses that were operating as of February 15, 2020, and that have been impacted by coronavirus.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act(CARES Act), signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020, contains key changes to the Bankruptcy Code. The CARES Act and the previously enacted Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) will impact consumers and small businesses that have filed, or may be faced with filing, for bankruptcy relief in

On March 21, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.9, which is in effect through April 20, 2020. The order provides financial relief to consumers and businesses with outstanding bank loans.

The order modifies subdivision two of Section 29 of the Banking Law to provide that it is an “unsafe and unsound” business practice if

In this time of extreme uncertainty, an unfortunate reality is that many businesses are wondering whether they will be able to survive an indefinite economic downturn. Virtually every industry is facing the prospect of weeks or even months of drastically reduced sales.

Businesses need to take steps immediately to weather a prolonged new normal in

Stuart Gordon and Matthew Spero have authored an article, “U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on FDCPA Limitations Period Leaves Issues Unresolved,” for the February 2020 issue of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

Click here to read the article.

Stuart Gordon and Matthew Spero have authored an article, “Eighth Circuit Rejects Successor Liability For Asset Purchaser At Forclosure Sale,” for the January 2020 issue of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

Click here to read the article.

Hon. Cecelia G. Morris, Chief Judge of United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, put down a momentous decision on January 7, 2020, granting summary judgment in favor of a debtor in an adversary proceeding seeking to have $221,385.49 in student loan debt declared dischargeable in bankruptcy. See, Rosenberg v. N.Y.

Stuart Gordon and Frank Izzo have authored an article, “Transgender Woman’s Employment Discrimination Judgment Was Nondischargeable, New York Bankruptcy Court Decides,” for Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

Click here to read the article.

Stuart Gordon’s and Matthew Spero’s article entitled “Supreme Court Settles Dispute Over Effect of Trademark License Rejection in Bankruptcy” was published in the July/August 2019 edition of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

Stuart Gordon’s and Matthew Spero’s article, “Marijuana Businesses in Bankruptcy: Courts Just Say No,” was published in the May 2019 issue of the Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

Click here to read the article.

Trademark licensees no longer need to fear the possibility of losing the right to use their licensed marks if the licensor files for bankruptcy. On May 20, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC nka Old Cold LLC, 587 U.S. __ (2019), holding that a licensor’s

Stuart Gordon’s and Matthew Spero’s article entitled “Creditors Typically May Not Offset Section 303(i) Judgments Against Claims Against Debtors” was published in the November 2018 edition of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

Click here to read the article.

Stu Gordon, Michael Cannata and Frank Misiti’s article, “Dealer’s Choice: First Circuit Allows Licensor to Reject Trademark License in Bankruptcy,” was published in The New York Intellectual Property Law Association’s spring newsletter.

Click here to read the article.

Stuart Gordon’s and Matthew Spero’s article entitled, “U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Securities Safe Harbor,” was published in the June 2018 edition of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

Click here to read the article.

Stuart Gordon’s and Matthew Spero’s article entitled, “A Potentially Momentous Decision: Second Circuit Explains How To Calculate Chapter 11 Cramdown Interest Rate” was published in the February/March 2018 edition of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

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Stuart Gordon and Matthew Spero’s article, “A Potentially Momentous Decision: Second Circuit Explains How to Calculate Chapter 11 Cramdown Interest Rate,” was published in the March 2018 issue of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

The article discusses the long-awaited decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that may make it more

Stuart Gordon and Matthew Spero have published an LexisNexis Emerging Issues Analysis on “Supreme Court Rejects ‘Structured Dismissals.’ Now What?

Click here to read the analysis.

Stuart Gordon and Matthew Spero’s article, “Supreme Court Rejects ‘Structured Dismissals.’ Now What?”, appeared in the July/August issue of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law.

To read the article, click here.

Stuart Gordon was featured in the May 12, 2017, Long Island Business News article, “New Life on Lease,” which explains how retailers going through a bankruptcy can derive value from below-market leases.

“Retailers can utilize the provisions of the bankruptcy code to maximize value for the benefit of their creditors, from among other assets, leases,”

Stuart Gordon and Matthew Spero have published an article in Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law entitled, “Pre-Petition Waivers of Bankruptcy Protection:  Typically Unenforceable.”

Click here to read the article.

In a rare instance where certiorari is granted in a bankruptcy case, on March 22, 2017, the United States Supreme Court rendered a crucial and fundamental decision that significantly affects the ability of parties to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to deviate from the priority distribution scheme set forth in the Bankruptcy Code under 11

A federal bankruptcy court in New York, overseeing the case of a debtor facing approximately 275,000 asbestos-related personal injury claims, has ruled that the debtor’s underlying insurance policies must be exhausted by actual payment before its excess insurance policies are triggered. The bankruptcy court’s decision, in In re Rapid-American Corp., Case No. 13-10687 (SMB), Adv.

When a corporation or individual files for bankruptcy protection, a self-executing “automatic stay” takes effect under Bankruptcy Code Section 362[i] that prohibits a wide range of acts or proceedings “against the debtor” that could have been taken before the filing of the bankruptcy case. As provided in Section 362, these include (1) the commencement or

A New Jersey Bankruptcy Court recently confirmed that questions of insurance coverage arise under state law and typically are not core matters subject to being resolved by bankruptcy courts. The authors of this article discuss the decision and its implications.

A New Jersey bankruptcy court, in In re John A. Rocco Co.,

Nearly a decade ago, Congress amended the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to add a new section that was intended to benefit sellers of goods to failing or financially distressed companies. Under this new provision, Bankruptcy Code Section 503(b)(9), a seller of goods is entitled to an “administrative expense claim,” for the goods sold and received by

Celeste M. Butera, a partner in the firm’s Insurance Coverage & Litigation and Intellectual Property Practice Groups and Stuart I. Gordon and Matthew V. Spero, members of the firm’s Corporate & Commercial Practice Group, co-authored, “Court’s Divide Over Intellectual Property Licensee’s Rights When Bankrupt Licensor Rejects License,” which appeared in the April/May 2013 issue of Pratts

Suppose that a company licenses a trademark ? or some other form of intellectual property ? from a company that owns a trademark (the “licensor”), the licensor files for bankruptcy protection, and the bankruptcy trustee exercises its rights under the Bankruptcy Code to “reject” (i.e., breach) the trademark license. What are the licensee’s rights and

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Bankruptcy Law v. Employment Discrimination