On February 13, 2023, Ultra Petroleum Corporation (“Ultra”) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the US Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit’s October 2022 ruling that, in solvent-debtor cases, debtors must pay unsecured creditors applicable contractual make-whole premiums and postpetition interest at contractual default rates in order for
In a recent article published by Law360, Mayer Brown’s Sean Scott, Aaron Gavant and Lisa Holl Chang break down recent decisions by the Fifth and Ninth Circuits relating to whether, in solvent debtor cases, unsecured creditors are entitled to postpetition interest in order to be deemed “unimpaired” under a plan of reorganization, and if so
Whether—and in what circumstances—a debtor should pay creditors a make-whole premium continues to be litigated in bankruptcy courts. Last week, as reported by Bloomberg, Judge Dorsey (Delaware) ruled that the debtor – Mallinckrodt Plc – did not need to pay a make whole premium to first lien lenders in order to reinstate such obligations
Mayer Brown partners Sean Scott and Aaron Gavant and associates Tyler Ferguson and Alexander Berk discussed the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas’ most recent decision arising out of the Ultra Petroleum Corp. bankruptcy case and its rulings that (1) make-whole premiums are allowed by the Bankruptcy Code under appropriate circumstances
On November 26, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in Ultra Petroleum Corp. v. Ad Hoc Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Ultra Resources1 that the US Bankruptcy Code limits in certain respects the right of creditors to enforce contractual claims for a “make-whole” premium owed under a note agreement as the result of the debtor’s prepayment of the notes. The Ultra Petroleum case may ultimately lead to a decision addressing the unresolved questions of whether, and in what circumstances, a claim for a make-whole premium must be disallowed as “unmatured interest” under Section 502(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code.
Continue Reading US Bankruptcy Code Defines Right to Receive “Make-Whole” Premium under Chapter 11 Plan
Prepayment premiums (also referred to as make-whole premiums) are a common feature in loan documents, allowing lenders to recover a lump-sum amount if a borrower pays off loan obligations prior to maturity, effectively compensating lenders for yield that they would have otherwise received absent prepayment. As a result of the widespread use of such provisions, three circuit courts of appeal – the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Second, Third and Fifth Circuit – have recently had to address the enforceability of prepayment provisions in bankruptcy. A quick review of these cases reveals a central theme: the enforceability of such a premium will likely turn on contract-specific language, and, in particular, whether the governing agreements specifically address payment following bankruptcy, including the effects of acceleration caused by bankruptcy.
Continue Reading Prepayment Premium/Make-Whole Enforceability in Bankruptcy: The Details Matter