Hertz is making big news just months after emerging from its successful Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As reported by NBC News, Hertz has signed deals with Tesla (to add at least 100,000 Teslas to its fleet), Uber (to make up to half of those Teslas available to Uber drivers), and with Carvana (to sell its
Bloomberg reports that Puerto Rico’s restructuring plan can move forward, with the passage of a new law that allows the island to sell bonds. This resolves Puerto Rico’s dispute with the commonwealth’s financial oversight board, which threatened to derail its bankruptcy case. [Bloomberg; Oct. 28, 2021]
Reporting from Reuters indicates that the economy grew at
Tether – the world’s largest issuer of “stablecoin” – has come under increased media and regulatory scrutiny in recent months as concerns over its liquidity have grown. This, in turn, has led to increased concerns regarding the risk that Tether, and other stablecoin issuers, pose to the crypto economy specifically and to the global financial system more generally.
Continue Reading Is Stablecoin Stable? Media and Regulators Raise Concerns
Partially walking back her prior pronouncements suggesting that she would rule to the contrary (which we previously wrote about here), on October 13, 2021, District Court Judge Colleen McMahon denied the U.S. Trustee’s request for an emergency stay pending appeal of the Purdue Pharma confirmation order. In a related order issued three days earlier, Judge McMahon had noted that she “fully” intended to grant the stay request so long as she had jurisdiction to do so. In the end, however, the District Court was persuaded to deny the request based on the debtors’ agreement not to raise equitable mootness as a defense to the appeal and by the debtors’ commitment to provide 14 days’ advance notice of the plan going fully effective. The U.S. Trustee had argued that a stay was still required, notwithstanding these conditions, given the weightiness of the issues at stake and the potential for later equitable mootness-related issues. While sympathizing with this position, the District Court ultimately found that the U.S. Trustee had not shown a sufficient likelihood of any “concrete harm” that could arise between the date of the District Court’s ruling and the next-scheduled hearing on the nearly identical stay motion back in the Bankruptcy Court. The District Court nonetheless emphasized that it would “not allow this appeal to be equitably mooted” and if, at any time, “it appears that imminent action might lead to that result,” the movants were invited to “knock on [Judge McMahon’s] door.”
Continue Reading Stay and Direct Appeal Requests Denied in Purdue Pharma; District Court Commits to Shielding Case from Equitable Mootness Concerns
Reuters interviews Representative Cheri Bustos with respect to a bill she proposed last week, which would prevent executives of bankrupt companies who make more than $250,000 per year from receiving bonuses during or in the six months before a bankruptcy. [Reuters; October 19, 2021]
CNBC reports on supply chain issues exacerbated by panic ordering from
CNBC discusses the Labor Department’s latest report on the U.S. labor market. According to the report, a record 4.3 million workers left their jobs in August, with workers in food service and retail industries leading the way. The number of job openings also saw a sharp decline during the month as hiring fell. [CNBC; Oct.
On October 10, 2021, Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a temporary restraining order, delaying implementation of Purdue Pharma’s plan of reorganization, which was confirmed by Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain on September 17th, pending argument on the U.S. Trustee’s motion for a stay pending appeal
According to Bloomberg’s U.S. Bankruptcy Tracker, the amount of distressed bonds and loans traded in U.S. markets had the biggest weekly boost of this year, with distressed debt in the telecommunications and oil and gas industries driving the jump. [Bloomberg, Sept. 28, 2021]
The Wall Street Journal discusses a report issued by the Government
In a somewhat unexpected development given his recent appointment to a second 14-year term a mere 5 years ago, Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York announced that he intends to retire as of June 30, 2022. Judge Drain has presided over many large, high-profile
Bloomberg Law discusses pending petitions for certiorari seeking the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of lower courts’ application of the “equitable mootness” doctrine, which places significant limits on dissenting parties ability to appeal from orders confirming Chapter 11 plans of reorganization. One such petition arises out of the Nuverra Environmental Solutions case, which we previously discussed