What We’re Reading This Week [January 24, 2020]
New Delaware Chapter 11 Filing – SFP Franchise Corporation
On January 23, 2020, SFP Franchise Corporation, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 20-10134). The Debtor reports assets in the range of $10,000,001- $50 Million and liabilities in the range of $50,000,001- $100 Million and an estimated 1,0000 to 5,000 creditors. SFP Franchise Corporation expects that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.
Cole Schotz…
Crowell & Moring Releases Litigation Forecast 2020 — Learn how the Internet of Things and AI Expose Companies to Increased Tort, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Litigation
Crowell & Moring has released Litigation Forecast 2020: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year. The eighth-annual Forecast provides forward-looking insights from leading Crowell & Moring lawyers to help legal departments anticipate and respond to challenges that might arise in the year ahead.
For 2020, the Forecast focuses on how the digital revolution is giving rise to new litigation risks, and it explores trends in employment non-competes, the future of stare…
Law360 — 5th Circ. Ultra Petroleum Ruling Poses Key Debtor Question
In an article for Law360, Mayer Brown partners Sean Scott, Adam Paul, Brian Trust, Tom Kiriakos and associate Tyler Ferguson discuss a recent key ruling in the Ultra Petroleum case.
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Third Circuit Holds Bankruptcy Courts May Constitutionally Confirm a Chapter 11 Plan Containing Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases
On December 19, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in In re Millennium Lab Holdings II, LLC1 that bankruptcy courts have the constitutional authority, well within the constraints of Stern v. Marshall,2 to confirm Chapter 11 reorganization plans containing nonconsensual third-party releases. This decision is notable not only because it is the first federal circuit court of appeals decision addressing (and overruling) a Stern challenge to a bankruptcy court’s authority to approve…
A welcome red packet – Hong Kong court recognises mainland Chinese administrators for first time
Just in time for Chinese New Year, a Hong Kong court has taken a major step forward in the developing law on cross-border insolvency by recognising a mainland Chinese liquidation for the first time. In Joint and Several Liquidators of CEFC Shanghai International Group Ltd [2020] HKCFI 167, Mr Justice Harris granted recognition and assistance to mainland administrators in Hong Kong so they could perform their functions and protect assets held in Hong Kong from…
OK Boomer
By A. Edward Hardin, Jr.
“OK Boomer” is a common catchphrase, often used in the context of a younger person being dismissive of an older person. The person on the receiving end of the quip may not be a “Boomer” per se (i.e., a member Baby Boomer generation), and should the recipient of the quip point that fact out, that correction would most certainly be met with the related response – “whatever Boomer” (perhaps punctuated…
The First of Three? DOL Releases Final Rule on Joint Employer Status
By Chelsea Caswell
On January 12, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a final rule updating and revising the DOL’s interpretation of joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2020, and its effective date will be March 16, 2020. Links to the final rule, a related fact sheet, frequently asked questions, and the DOL press…
U.S. Supreme Court Confirms That Stay Relief Orders Must Be Appealed Right Away
Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion regarding appeals of orders denying relief from the automatic stay. Generally, the automatic stay (section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code) prevents creditors from taking action against the debtor’s assets outside the bankruptcy process. In order to continue debt collection efforts, creditors can file a motion for relief from stay.
In Ritzen Group., Inc. v. Jackson Masonry LLC, No. 18-938, the Supreme Court considered the finality…
Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal Limits The Application of Late Payment Penalties
By: Jaye A. Calhoun, Jason R. Brown, William J. Kolarik, II, and Sanders W. Colbert
In Smith International v. Robinson, No. 10498, (La. App. 1 Cir. January 9, 2020), the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal held that the Louisiana Department of Revenue (the “Department”) may not impose a late payment penalty when a taxpayer has paid the amount reported to be due on its tax return. The Court’s holding limits…
