Danielle A. Corn

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The store closed
Close-up of saleswoman hanging the Closed sign on glass door and closed the store

The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “SDNY”) has been a longstanding epicenter of Chapter 11 filings. Historically seen as one of the more pro-debtor forums in the country, large companies often filed in the SDNY to take advantage of that stance. Some debtors appear to have attempted to direct their cases to specific judges within the district who were seen as particularly pro-debtor. One recent example was the bankruptcy filing by OxyContin producer, Purdue Pharma. Facing a historic indictment by the Department of Justice, along with mounting tort claims relating to the marketing of its drugs, Purdue—a company headquartered in Connecticut—changed the mailing address of one of its units from Albany to White Plains six months before filing for bankruptcy.[1] As a result, Purdue was able to file its petition in the bankruptcy court in Westchester (within the Southern District) so that it could be heard by Judge Robert Drain, a longtime judge with extensive experience over cases for large-chapter 11 debtors and the only commercial bankruptcy judge in Westchester.[2] Purdue rationalized its decision by stating that “White Plains is about 15 miles from our corporate headquarters and is the closest federal Bankruptcy courthouse,” yet many took issue with this supposed rationale.[3] Purdue was also not an isolated case. Nationwide, a subset of three judges (including Judge Drain)—out of the total three hundred and seventy-five bankruptcy court judges—heard 57% of all large public company Chapter 11 filings in 2020.[4]
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Continue Reading Attempting to Close the Shops: New York and Virginia Adopt Random Case Assignment to Discourage Forum Shopping

On Tuesday, December 21, Bloomberg Economics reported that the latest strain of COVID-19, Omicron, is set to halve fourth quarter global economic growth. According to Bloomberg, the global economy is expanding at just 0.7% in the final three months, which is half the pace of the third quarter. The European economy is on pace for…

Fox Business reports that Boy Scouts of America’s insurer Chubb Ltd. has pledged to contribute $800 million to the Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy settlement deal. Boy Scouts of America, which filed for bankruptcy in February 2020, is currently on track to settle with approximately 82,500 tort claimants who claim they were sexually abused as children by troop leaders. The latest contribution by Chubb raises the total amount of available funds to resolve the claims to more than $2.7 billion. The fund is also backed by Boy Scouts of America’s primary insurer, the Hartford Financial Group, as well as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ultimately, Boy Scouts of America’s emergence from Chapter 11 hinges on a settlement with tort claimants, and, while several victims have voiced support for the settlement deal, a separate committee of claimants voiced concerns that the deal compromises too much in exchange for a quick exit. The abuse claimants have until December 28th to vote on the reorganization. [Fox Business; Dec. 13, 2021]
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Continue Reading What We’re Reading This Week [December 16, 2021]

In its August 5th, 2021 VeroBlue Farms decision,[1] the Eighth Circuit lent its voice to a growing body of criticism of the equitable mootness doctrine contending that its use to bar challenges to confirmed reorganization plans should be circumscribed.  Laying out a new investigation that must be undertaken before using the doctrine to bar confirmation order appeals, the Eighth Circuit emphasized that reviewing courts must: (1) make “at least a preliminary review of the merits” of an appeal to determine the strength of the claims at issue; (2) assess the “amount of time that would likely be required” to resolve the merits of such claims on an expedited basis; and (3) consider the potential equitable remedies that might still be available even after a plan’s implementation, should the appeal prove successful, which would not undermine the plan or harm third parties.
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Continue Reading Mootness Muted? – Eighth Circuit Circumscribes Use of Equitable Mootness Doctrine to Bar Bankruptcy Plan Appeals

The Wall Street Journal reports on Purdue Pharma’s continuing confirmation hearing covering the company’s proposed reorganization plan centered around a $4.5 billion settlement with its founders, the Sackler family.  Currently, the Sackler family is named in civil litigation which alleges that the family knowingly fueled opioid addiction through the marketing of OxyContin, an opioid painkiller.…

The Wall Street Journal reports on OxyContin-manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP’s efforts to defend its proposed chapter 11 plan including its proposed multibillion-dollar settlement with the Sackler family, Purdue’s former owners.  The confirmation hearing on Purdue’s proposed plan is set to begin on Thursday, August 12th.  The plan is supported by the unsecured creditors’…

In a March 30, 2021 announcement, the Biden administration announced that it would be extending relief to approximately 1.14 million student loan borrowers who previously were not covered under the CARES Act relief enacted last year. These are borrowers who have defaulted on loans issued pursuant to the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”). Specifically, under the measure, borrowers who have defaulted on FFELP loans will not face further penalties (and will see penalties already assessed unwound) and will also see their current interest rates reset to 0%.[1] The Biden administration’s action will be retroactive to March 13, 2020—the day the governmental formally declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic—and will return FFELP loans that defaulted during this period to good standing, with credit bureaus asked to remove any related negative credit reporting, allowing the applicable borrowers to rehabilitate their credit scores.[2]…
Continue Reading Approaching Student Loan Relief Piecemeal: The Biden Administration Extends CARES Relief to Defaulted FFELP Student Loan Borrowers; Weighs Options for Further Measures

Breaking with a Sixth Circuit decision to the contrary, in a March 2021 decision in Stewart v. Holland, the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania held that unfair labor claims brought by the Department of Labor against a debtor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) were not barred by the automatic stay but could instead proceed under the “police powers exception.”1
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Continue Reading Opinion of Interest – When the Automatic Stay is No Shield – Pennsylvania Court Holds that Government’s Unfair Labor Claims Are Subject to Police Power Exception

Bloomberg Law reports that that the U.S. Trustee’s Office is working to combat the recent rise of “pre-packaged” chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. A pre-packaged bankruptcy or a “pre-pack” refers to the circumstances in which a debtor negotiates its reorganizational agreements with key stakeholders before filing its chapter 11 case and then files and confirm its…

The American Bankruptcy Institute reported that President Biden signed the “COVID-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act” into law Saturday, March 27, 2021, which extends through March 27, 2022, provisions providing financially distressed consumers and small businesses with greater access to bankruptcy relief.  The provisions were included in the original CARES Act that was passed in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak and were originally set to expire this month. [ABI; March 29, 2021].
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Continue Reading What We’re Reading This Week [March 29, 2021]