BAPCPA Forces Chapter 11 Debtors to Emerge Too Quickly, According to Analysis in Summer ABI Law Review

BAPCPA Forces Chapter 11 Debtors to Emerge Too Quickly, According to Analysis in Summer ABI Law Review

Alexandria, Va. — An empirical analysis in ABI’s Summer 2015 Law Review (Volume 23, No. 2) concludes that the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) forces debtors to emerge from bankruptcy more quickly than they should, causing them to exit chapter 11 before they are truly rehabilitated. “Chapter 11 Duration, Pre-Planned Cases, and Refiling Rates: An Empirical Analysis in the Post-BAPCPA Era,” written by Foteini Teloni, an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law, empirically examines and quantifies the effect of BAPCPA on three distinct aspects of the chapter 11 process: (1) the duration of traditional chapter 11 cases; (2) the use of pre-packaged and pre-negotiated bankruptcies; and (3) debtor re-filing rates. The analysis supports an association with BAPCPA of shorter chapter 11 duration and the increased use of pre-packaged bankruptcies. “It seems that the 2005 amendments force the debtor to emerge hastily from its chapter 11 proceedings, ignoring operational and structural problems and, therefore, not achieving true rehabilitation,” Prof. Teloni writes.

 

In addition to Prof. Teloni’s analysis, the Summer Law Review contains five articles on cutting-edge bankruptcy matters and one LL.M. graduate thesis on compelling bankruptcy topics. Articles in the Summer issue include:

 

  • “‘Foaming the Runway’ for Homeowners: U.S. Bankruptcy Courts ‘Preserving Homeownership’ in the Wake of the Home Affordable Modification Program” by Prof. Linda Coco at Barry University (Orlando, Fla.).

 

  • “The Saga of Income from Income-Producing Collateral Treatment in Bankruptcy for Undersecured Creditors” by Ian Ghrist of Ghrist Law Firm (Colleyville, Texas).

 

  • “Bankruptcy Law as a Balancing System: Lessons Learned from a Comparative Analysis of the Intersection Between Labor and Bankruptcy Laws” by Assistant Professor Omer Kimhi and doctoral candidate Arno Doeber of the University of Haifa (Haifa, Israel).

 

  • “On a ‘Related’ Point: Rethinking Whether Bankruptcy Courts Can ‘Order’ the Involuntary Release of Non-Debtor, Third-Party Claims” by Eamonn O’Hagan, an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

 

  • “A Tale of Two Courts: The Novel Cross-Border Bankruptcy Trial” by Lauren L. Peacock, an associate with the law firm Togut, Segal & Segal LLP (New York).

 

  • The LL.M. graduate thesis is “Yes, No, or Maybe: The Presumption Against Extra-Territoriality in the Bankruptcy Context” by Shlomo Maza, a 2014 graduate of the St. John’s University School of Law Bankruptcy LL.M. program.

 

ABI’s Law Review, published in conjunction with St. Johns University School of Law in Jamaica, N.Y., is among the most cited and respected scholarly publications in the bankruptcy community. It has the largest circulation of any bankruptcy law review. Past issues of the Law Review have focused on a variety of timely insolvency topics, including distressed sectors, single-asset cases, consumer bankruptcy, the revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and other topics.

 

Members of the press looking to obtain any of the articles from the Summer 2015 issue should contact John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected].

 

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 12,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.