With the continued expansion of international trade and the increase in cross-border transactions comes an increase in complex multi-jurisdictional disputes.
Commercial Fraud Committee
Committees
The General Corporation Law of Delaware (DGCL) provides a right of action against corporate directors who declare a dividend while the corporation is insolvent. Such conduct may also give rise to claims for fraudulent transfer or breach of fiduciary duty, but unlawful dividend claims have several advantages.
The Fifth Circuit recently certified an important question under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA) to the Texas Supreme Court. At issue is the futility exception to the good-faith defense provided by § 8(a) of UFTA.
Lees Inns of America (LIA) was a public company that built and operated hotels. Lester Lee (Lester) and his brother William each owned 25 percent of LIA. In 1994, LIA went private and Lester became the majority shareholder and chairman of the board. The balance of shares were held by a trust (the Trust) created by William with his two sons as co-trustees.
An insurance policy covering directors and officers of a company can provide a valuable source of restitution for a bankruptcy estate and its creditors who have been wronged by actionable negligence and/or failures to act by corporate officers and directors. An informed plaintiff will read the applicable policy (prior to instituting suit if possible) closely, as such policies uniformly contain various exclusions to coverage.[1] When a claim against a director or officer (D&O) falls under a policy exclusion, the policy’s coverage might not apply to that claim. The insurer may issue a “reservation of rights” letter to its insured detailing those claims that the insurer has decided are not covered by the policy.
Bankruptcy attorneys usually think of Rule 2004 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure as a near-unstoppable discovery tool that can be used by a debtor-in-possession (DIP), panel trustee or liquidating trustee to obtain documents needed to evaluate and successfully prosecute claims against insiders and others.[1] This to
Student loan debt has now grown to over $1.5 trillion. Despite a relatively strong economy, more than 8 million borrowers are delinquent or are in default under their loans. Of particular concern to lenders is that these figures will only worsen if economists’ predictions for a slowing economy ring true.
First enacted during the Great Depression, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA)[1] in part sought to protect the suppliers of fruits and vegetables who had been left unpaid when purchasers went bankrupt.
It is been over a year since the unusual involuntary bankruptcy case of In re Scandia Seafood (New York) Inc. was tried on a motion by the assignee in an assignment for the benefit of creditors (ABC) to dismiss, and for sanctions against the petitioning creditors and their counsel.[1] What made the case unusual was that it con
Section 523(a)(6) of the Bankruptcy Code prohibits the discharge of debts “for willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity or to the property of another entity.”[1] Two decades ago, the Supreme Court clarified that “[t]he word ‘willful’ modifies the word ‘injury,’ indicating that nondischargeability takes a deliberate
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