Business Restructuring Review Vol. 21, No. 5 | September'October 2022

• Published date: 30 September 2022
• Subject Matter: Insolvency/Bankruptcy/Re-structuring, Insolvency/Bankruptcy
• Law Firm: Jones Day
• Author: Nick Buchta, Mark Douglas, Brad Erens, Gregory Gordon, Daniel Merrett, Jane Rue Wittstein, T. Daniel Reynolds, Oliver Zeltner, Dan Prieto and Paul Green

In This Issue:

Lawyer Spotlight: Gregory M. Gordon

Greg Gordon represents clients in complex, high-profile chapter 11 cases and corporate restructurings. His experience includes out-of-court restructurings, prepackaged bankruptcies, distressed M&A transactions, and cross-border insolvencies. He has assisted clients in achieving permanent resolutions of mass tort liabilities, including asbestos and talc liabilities. Recently, Greg successfully represented LTL Management, an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson, in a chapter 11 case it filed to resolve its talc liability. Greg is located in the Dallas Office and is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy.

Texas District Court: Bankruptcy Sale Break-Up Fee Satisfied Both Business Judgment Test and Administrative Expense Standard

In In re Bouchard Transp. Co., Inc., 639 B.R. 697 (S.D. Tex. 2022), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas affirmed a bankruptcy court order approving a $3.3 million break-up fee and more than $885,000 in expense reimbursement to a disappointed "stalking-horse" bidder in an auction of the debtors' assets, finding that the payments satisfied both the business judgment test under section 363(b) of the Bankruptcy Code and the standard for approval of administrative expense claims under section 503(b). [read more ... ]

Denial of Chapter 11 Plan Confirmation Unwarranted Even if Plan Support Agreements Violated Disclosure Requirements

In In re LATAM Airlines Grp. S.A., 2022 WL 2206829 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. June 18, 2022) (unpublished opinion), as amended, 2022 WL 2541298 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. July 7, 2022), stay pending appeal denied, No. 20-11254 (JLG) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. July 7, 2022), certification denied, No. 20-11254 (JLG) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. July 26, 2022), aff'd, 2022 WL 3910718 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2022), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, in an unpublished opinion, overruled an objection to confirmation of a chapter plan based on the debtors' alleged violation of the chapter 11 plan solicitation requirements by entering into agreements with certain creditors, prior to the court's approval of a disclosure statement, that obligated them to vote in favor of a plan in exchange for allowance of their claims. According to the court, even if those plan support agreements were improper, the only remedy for the violation was disallowance of the creditors' votes, which would not change the outcome of the voting process. [read more ... ]

Third Circuit Sets...