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
Just after 5:00 p.m. Central Time on February 23, 2021, Belk, Inc. and its affiliates filed chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, along with a proposed “prepackaged” plan of reorganization. Before midnight, the US Trustee objected to Belk’s plan, and, by 8:00 a.m. the next day, the parties were in court to decide plan confirmation. Two hours later, Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur confirmed the plan, and it became effective that afternoon, just 20 hours after the Chapter 11 cases were filed. Typically, chapter 11 debtors take many months, if not longer, to confirm a plan, and even prepackaged bankruptcy cases like Belk’s often take several weeks from filing to confirmation. As we discuss in this post, Belk’s swift bankruptcy case is part of a growing trend of bankruptcy courts confirming chapter 11 plans shortly after case filing where there is adequate notice and creditor buy-in prior to the filing.
Continue Reading Belk Chapter 11 Plan Confirmed and Effective Within 24 Hours of Bankruptcy Filing
Reporting from Reuters discusses how large firms that have filed for bankruptcy relief since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have awarded bonuses to executives shortly before filing for bankruptcy. Of the 40 large firms investigated, Reuters found that approximately one-third awarded bonuses to executives within the month before filing for bankruptcy. [Reuters; July 17,
Law360 reports that Purdue Pharma LP is seeking a 180-day extension of a preliminary injunction put in place earlier in the bankruptcy process that halted litigation relating to Purdue’s role in the national opioid crisis not only against the debtors themselves but also against the debtors’ current and former owners, officers, directors, employees, and associated
In less than 24 hours beginning on May 1, 2019, Sungard Availability Services Capital, Inc., and its affiliates (collectively, “Sungard”) commenced and completed Chapter 11 proceedings in what has been described as the fastest Chapter 11 case ever. Sungard filed its Chapter 11 cases just before 9pm on May 1 in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, White Plains Division, and, before 6pm the next day, Judge Robert Drain entered an order confirming Sungard’s prepackaged Chapter 11 plan.[1] The Sungard debtors were able to obtain this rapid result through extensive pre-filing planning and negotiations, and likely also benefited from assignment of their cases to Judge Drain, who had prior experience in addressing similar, expedited pre-packaged cases.[2]
Continue Reading Short-Order Reorganization: Sungard’s 24-hour Bankruptcy Case