Pretty Products, LLC (“Pretty Products” or the “Debtor”) filed a petition on June 15, 2010 in the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia (case number 10-12286) for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code. The case has been assigned to Judge W. Homer Drake.
Delaware Bankruptcy Court Confirms Applicability of Section 1409(b) Venue Dollar Threshold to Claims for Recovery of Avoidable Preferential Transfers under Section 547
The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Judge Kevin Gross, has confirmed the applicability to preference actions of the venue dollar threshold of 28 USC Section 1409(b). Dynamerica Mfg. LLC v. Johnson Oil Co., LLC, 2010 WL 1930269 (Bkrtcy.D.Del., May 10, 2010).
PBGC Claims Provoke Crucible Materials Corporation’s Creditors’ Committee Head Start on Bankruptcy Preference Claims – Prior to Plan Confirmation
The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors appointed in the Crucible Materials Corporation bankruptcy (District of Delaware Case No. 09-11582 (MFW)) filed a motion on June 3, 2010 seeking intermediate derivative standing to pursue avoidance actions aka bankruptcy preference recovery. The Committee acknowledges that avoidance actions are supposed to be handled by a Litigation Trustee
“Subsequent Advance” Approach to Subsequent New Value May Still Live in the Eleventh Circuit… and Payment of 503(b)(9) Administrative Expense Claim Held to Reduce Subsequent New Value Defense to Bankruptcy Preference
A simple statement of the April 28, 2010 holding in TI Acquisition, LLC, v. Southern Polymer, Inc. 2010 WL 1993848 (Bankr.N.D.Ga.), may paint the decision as adverse to creditor interests. Certainly, Judge Mary Grace Diehl held that “new value” paid as a 503(b)(9) administrative expense is unavailable in a “subsequent new value” defense to a bankruptcy preference claim. However, this holding is overshadowed
Three Questions that Give Practical Meaning to Fundamental Bankruptcy Preference Concepts
For businesses confronting of a bankruptcy avoidable transfer claim under Section 547 of the Bankruptcy Code, answering three questions provides a bridge between esoteric descriptions of bankruptcy preference law and real world bankruptcy preference defense. A new article on this website entitled “A Three Question, Preliminary Self Assessment of a Bankruptcy Preference Claim” (click link to read) strives to give a bankruptcy preference defendant an look at the preference claim after it is filtered through three questions that each hit at core bankruptcy preference principles.
OTC International – High Concentration of Foreign Bankruptcy Preference Defendants
Between March 31 and April 2, 2010 (one day before the expiration of the statute of limitations), the Plan Administrator in the OTC International, LTD. nka IBP Corp. bankruptcy (Southern District of New York – Petition 08-11181) filed 78 adversary proceedings seeking recovery of alleged preferential transfers totaling more than $8.5 million. No less than 34 avoidable transfer recoveries are being sought from foreign suppliers – 24 located in Italy and 10 spread among Hong Kong, India, Germany, Thailand and Tunisia. Adversary proceedings to recover avoidable preferences against foreign suppliers are not unusual. However, these preference actions are worthy of note because of concentration of overseas defendants, both in terms of number of defendants and the relative size of the preference claims against them. To see an APScan of the 78 adversary proceedings, click this link.
The Caption of the Adversary Proceeding Complaint – An Elemental Video Review – Part 2
The caption of an adversary proceeding complaint provides essential information for the defendant in the process of resolving an adversary proceeding complaint for the recovery of bankruptcy preferences and other avoidable transfers. Part 2 of our five part series on the elements of a bankruptcy preference complaint addresses the caption.
A Bankruptcy Preference Adversary Proceeding Complaint – An Elemental Video Review – Part 1
The service of an adversary proceeding complaint often may provide the first notice to a business that it has been identified as a recipient of bankruptcy preferences. Without the warning of a demand letter, the complaint may seem like a missive from hell – laced with demands to avoid and recover preferential transfers and statutory citations to Sections 547(b), 550 and 502(d), the words have as much meaning to the uninitiated as hieroglyphics.
Swoozie’s Bankruptcy – Background, Direction, Petition Statistical Information
Swoozie’s, Inc. (“Swoozie’s” or the “Debtor”) filed a petition on March 2, 2010 in the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia (case number 10-66316) for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code. The case has been assigned to Judge C. Ray Mullins. The bankruptcy petition was signed by Kelly Plank-Dworkin as President and Chief Financial Officer of the Debtor. The Debtor’s bankruptcy counsel is Wendy R. Reiss of the firm of Alston & Bird LLP of Atlanta, Georgia.
HomeBanc Mortgage – 386 Bankruptcy Preference Actions – Statute of Limitations Trustee Appointment Extension
The HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation bankruptcy was filed on August 9, 2007, well over 2 years and 5 months ago. This week 386 bankruptcy preference adversary proceeding complaints were filed by the HomeBanc Mortgage Chapter 7 trustee. For those who have been lulled into ignorant bliss by the often quoted 2 year statute of limitations for bankruptcy preference actions, the case illustrates that the conversion of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7 can result in up to a 1 year extension of the statute of limitations – i.e. up to a theoretical maximum of 3 years.