Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Fall 15 Percent in April
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS FALL 15 PERCENT IN APRIL
May 14, 2007,
“Though bankruptcy filings are elevated from a year ago, overall levels are still at about one-third the rate experienced before Congress changed the laws,” said Samuel J. Gerdano, ABI Executive Director.
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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 11,500 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.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
NBKRC is an online research center that offers subscribers access to up-to-date research and statistics on bankruptcy filings. The database contains complete information dating back to 1995. For more information on NBKRC, please visit http://www.nbkrc.com.
*Definitions from
Bankruptcy Overview: Issues, Law and Policy, by the American
Bankruptcy Institute.
Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is available to both
individual and business debtors. Its purpose is to achieve a fair
distribution to creditors of the debtor’s available non-exempt
property. Unsecured debts not reaffirmed are discharged, providing
a fresh financial start.
Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for both business and consumer debtors. Its purpose is to rehabilitate a business as a going concern or reorganize an individual’s finances through a court-approved reorganization plan.
Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code is designed to give special debt relief to a family farmer with regular income from farming.
Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for an individual with regular income whose debts do not exceed specific amounts; it is typically used to budget some of the debtor’s future earnings under a plan through which unsecured creditors are paid in whole or in part.
Respondents Closely Divided over Bankruptcy Courts Having Jurisdction to Reopen Cases That Have Been Dismissed
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
RESPONDENTS
CLOSELY DIVIDED OVER BANKRUPTCY COURTS HAVING JUSRISDICTION TO REOPEN
CASES THAT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED IN LATEST
May 18, 2007, Alexandria, Va. —Results of a recent American Bankruptcy Institute online poll showed that respondents were closely divided over whether or not bankruptcy courts have subject matter jurisdiction to reopen a bankruptcy case that has been dismissed. The largest number of respondents (45 percent) agreed that bankruptcy courts have jurisdiction under Bankruptcy Code §350(b) to reopen a bankruptcy case that has been dismissed and terminated pursuant to §349, even if the case has never been administered, completed or formally closed. Section 350(b) authorizes the bankruptcy court to reopen a case for various reasons including to 'administer assets, to accord relief to the debtor, or for other cause. 'Thirty-two percent “strongly agreed” and another 13 percent “agreed somewhat.”
Twenty-four percent of respondents did not think that bankruptcy courts have subject matter jurisdiction to reopen a case under §350(b) when that proceeding has been dismissed and terminated pursuant to §349. Nineteen percent “strongly disagreed,” while another 5 percent “disagreed somewhat” that under §350(b) the courts had subject matter jurisdiction to reopen a case. Twenty-eight percent of respondents “did not know or had no opinion.”
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ABI Poll Dishonest Chapter 7 Debtors Do Not Have an Absolute Right to Convert Their Bankruptcy Cases to Chapter 13
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
THEIR BANKRUPTCY CASES TO CHAPTER 13
May 29, 2007, Alexandria,
Va. —A majority of respondents to
Eighteen percent of respondents, however, thought that chapter 7 debtors did have an absolute right under §706(a) to convert to a chapter 13 proceeding, even if there was pre-petition bad faith conduct. Seventeen percent “strongly disagreed” that chapter 7 debtors do not have an absolute right to convert to chapter 13 if they acted in bad faith during the pre-petition process, while 1 percent “disagreed somewhat.” Eight percent of the respondents did not know or had no opinion on the issue.
The poll is based on Marrama v. Citizens Bank
of Massachusetts, No. 05-996, 549
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Banks Refusal to Release Repossessed Vehicle Violates Stay According to Latest ABI Poll
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
BANK’S
REFUSAL TO RELEASE REPOSSESSED VEHI
June 4, 2007, Alexandria,
Va. —A majority of respondents to
Twenty-seven percent of respondents, however, thought that it is not a willful stay violation for a bank to refuse releasing a repossessed vehicle after it had received a debtor’s chapter 13 filing. Eighteen percent “strongly disagreed” that a bank’s refusal to release a repossessed vehicle upon receiving notice of a debtor’s chapter 13 filing was a willful stay violation, while 9 percent “disagreed somewhat.” Seven percent of the respondents did not know or had no opinion on the issue.
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ABI to Co-Host International Corporate Recovery Forum in Brazil
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
June 25, 2007, Alexandria,
Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute
(
Program sessions include:
Judge Boris Kauffmann (São Paulo Bankruptcy Court of Appeals) will moderate the “Judicial Role in Complex Reorganization Cases: View from the Bench” session featuring Judges Louise DeCarl Adler (S.D.Calif.), Robert D. Drain (S.D.N.Y), Chief Judge Marcia Cunha Silva Araujo de Carvalho (Rio de Janeiro Bankruptcy Court–2nd District) and Chief Judge Alexandre Alves Lazzarini (São Paulo Bankruptcy Court- 1st District).
The “A View from the U.S. Bench: Key Structural and Practical Issues of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code–Critical Success Factors” session moderated by Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth S. Stong (E.D.N.Y.) includes Bankruptcy Judges Thomas B. Bennett (D.Ala.), Charles G. Case (D.Ariz.), Barbara Houser (N.D.Texas) andJeffrey P. Hopkins (S.D.Ohio).
Bankruptcy Judge Sidney B. Brooks (D.Colo.) and Adolfo Rouillon, Insolvency Specialist and Legal Vice President for The World Bank (Washington, D.C.) will participate in the “Cooperation, Direct Communication and Coordination of Cross-Border Cases between United States and Brazilian Courts” Session.
“A View from Brazil’s Bench: Key Structural and Practical Issues of Brazil’s New Corporate Bankruptcy and Recovery Law” will feature Judge Manoel de Queiroz Pereira Calças (São Paulo Bankruptcy Court of Appeals) and Chief Judges Carlos Henrique Abrao (São Paulo Court–42nd District), Luiz Roberto Ayoub (Rio de Janeiro Bankruptcy Court–1st District), Maria Lucia Pizzotti Mendes (São Paulo Court–32nd District) and Carlos Magno Rocha da Silva (Goiania–11th District).
The moderator for the
“Lenders’ View: Key Concerns, Relevant Aspects, DIP, Cash
Collateral, Prerequisites” session is Dr. Jorge Queiroz,
IBGT Chair, Managing Principal Alliance Partners–Corporate
Transformation and Turnaround CEO, CRO, Creditors’ Representative
(São Paulo). Joining him on the panel are Wagner Albuquerque de
Almeida, Executive Director, Credit Management of ABN AMRO Real Bank
(
“The Funds: What About the Required Capital?” session, moderated by Antonio Toro, Partner in the Business Recovery Services division of PricewaterhouseCoopers (São Paulo), will be joined by panelists Andre Barbierato, CEO of Buffalo Investments (São Paulo), Luis Leonardo Cantidiano, Board Member of the Brazilian Association of Private Equity and Venture Capital and partner at Motta Fernandes Rocha Advogados (São Paulo), Cristiana Ferraz, Vice President of Emerging Markets, Fixed Income Division, at Lehman Brothers (São Paulo), Felix Hofmann, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley (United Kingdom) and David Martens, Director at ABN-AMRO Bank (New York).
Lionel Zaclis of Barretto Ferreira, Kujawski, Brancher e Gonçalves– Sociedade de Advogados (São Paulo) will moderate the “Financial Institutions and Hedge Funds in Debt Restructurings–Their Own, as Well as Their Role in Corporate Reorganizations” session with panelists Luiz Fernando Valente de Paiva, Partner at Pinheiro Neto Advogados (São Paulo), Brian E. Greer, Counsel at Linklaters LLP (New York), Laura Hatfield, Partner at Solomon Harris (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) and Christopher A. Jarvinen of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (New York) and U.S. Representative to the IBGT.
The “International
Perspective: Key Issues” session, moderated by Luis
Laboissiére, Partner at Lefosse Advogados in cooperation with
Linklaters LLP (
“Oversight and
Administration of Restructuring Cases (judicial administrators,
trustees, examiners)” will be moderated by Josefina Fernandez
McEvoy, Partner at K&L Gates LLP (
Fabio Rosas, Partner of Tozzini Freire Teixeira e Silva Advogados (São Paulo) will moderate “A View from Practitioners: Creditors’ Concerns, including Issues Regarding Creditor Committees, Legal Advisors, Turnaround Professionals, Financial Advisors, Trustees, Successor Liabilities, Asset Pooling and More.” Panelists for the session include Laura Bumachar, Head of Restructuring at Barbosa Mussnich & Aragão Advogados (Rio de Janeiro), Felipe Ribeiro Da Luz Câmara of Tozzini Freire Teixeira e Silva Advogados (São Paulo), Gilberto Deon Correa, Head of Restructuring at Veirano Advogados, Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul), Luiz Eugênio Araújo Müller Filho, Partner at Lobo e Ibeas Advogados (Rio de Janeiro) and Paulo Penalva Santos, Partner at Motta Fernandes Rocha Advogados (Rio de Janeiro).
“Fraudulent
Conveyances,” moderated by Martin S. Zohn, Partner at
Proskauer Rose LLP (
Moderator Eduardo Gomide, Managing Director of Financial Advisory Services at Kroll, Inc (São Paulo) and panelists Edward E. Davis Jr., Partner at Astigarraga Davis LLP (Miami), Antenor Madruga, Brazil’s former National Secretary of Justice and Director of Brazil’s Department of Assets Recovery and International Cooperation (São Paulo) and Andrew Witts, Head of the Commercial Fraud Group at Lawrence Graham LLP (London) will participate in the “Corporate/Financial Frauds, Tracing, Freezing and Recovery of Estate’s Assets—Brazilian and International Perspective: Case Discussions” session.
The closing speech will be
delivered by Hon. Celso Limongi, President of the Superior Court
of the State of São Paulo. The conference will also feature
luncheon speeches by Rafael Guedes, Managing Director at Fitch Ratings
(
###
ABI Poll Respondents Divided Over Whether an Undersecured Creditor Can Claim New Value for Debtor Payments Received Within 90 Days of Filing
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
June 18, 2007, Alexandria,
Va. — Respondents to
Twenty-seven percent of respondents, however, thought that an undersecured creditor who received payments from a debtor within 90 days of the debtor’s filing could properly claim that his agreement not to foreclose on collateral constitutes “new value” under §547(c)(4). Fourteen percent “strongly disagreed” and 13 percent “disagreed somewhat” that an undersecured creditor who received payments from a debtor within 90 days of the debtor’s bankruptcy filing could not properly claim that their agreement not to foreclose on collateral constitutes “new value” under the Bankruptcy Code. Twenty percent of the respondents did not know or had no opinion on the issue.
The question comes from the recent Seventh Circuit opinion in In re ABC-Naco No. 06-1719 (7th Cir. Apr. 9, 2007) where the court held that the payments were preferential and should be returned to the estate. (An agreement by an undersecured creditor to forego his right to foreclose on collateral is not new value.)
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Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Increase Nearly 12 Percent in May
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS INCREASE NEARLY 12 PERCENT IN MAY
June 6, 2007,
“Personal bankruptcies
continue to be more volatile this year than in 2006,” said Samuel
J. Gerdano,
###
NBKRC is an online research center that offers subscribers access to up-to-date research and statistics on bankruptcy filings. The database contains complete information dating back to 1995. For more information on NBKRC, please visit http://www.nbkrc.com.
*Definitions from
Bankruptcy Overview: Issues, Law and Policy, by the American
Bankruptcy Institute.
Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is available to both
individual and business debtors. Its purpose is to achieve a fair
distribution to creditors of the debtor’s available non-exempt
property. Unsecured debts not reaffirmed are discharged, providing
a fresh financial start.
Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for both business and consumer debtors. Its purpose is to rehabilitate a business as a going concern or reorganize an individual’s finances through a court-approved reorganization plan.
Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code is designed to give special debt relief to a family farmer with regular income from farming.
Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for an individual with regular income whose debts do not exceed specific amounts; it is typically used to budget some of the debtor’s future earnings under a plan through which unsecured creditors are paid in whole or in part.
ABI Releases Bankruptcy Appeals Manual
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
June 14, 2007,
Alexandria, Va. —The American Bankruptcy Institute’s
(
Authors Samuel R. Maizel of Pachulski Stang Ziehl
Young Jones & Weintraub LLP (
The 278-page softbound manual
is available for purchase ($22 members; $27 nonmembers) at
http://www.abiworld.org/source/orders/index.cfm?task=3&SKU=07_005
###
ABI Webinar to Explore Chinas New Bankruptcy Law
Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
[email protected]
June 15, 2007, Alexandria,
Va. — As China’s historic new bankruptcy law
became effective on June 1, the American Bankruptcy Institute
(
Presenters for the Webinar include:
- Dr. Jingxia Shi (Prof. of
- Yong (James) Wang (Kirkland
& Ellis, LLP;
- Donald A. Workman (Baker &
Hostetler, LLP;
- George M. Kelakos, moderator
(Kelakos Advisors LLC;
The interactive format of the
Webinar will enable participants to listen to the speakers while
simultaneously accessing program materials on the Web. The
speakers will also be available to answer questions by phone during the
program.
To participate in the
###
ABI to Co-Host International Corporate Recovery Forum in Brazil
Contact: John Hartgen
[email protected]
703-739-0800
June 25, 2007, Alexandria,
Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute
(
Program sessions include:
Judge Boris Kauffmann (São Paulo Bankruptcy Court of Appeals) will moderate the “Judicial Role in Complex Reorganization Cases: View from the Bench” session featuring Judges Louise DeCarl Adler (S.D.Calif.), Robert D. Drain (S.D.N.Y), Chief Judge Marcia Cunha Silva Araujo de Carvalho (Rio de Janeiro Bankruptcy Court–2nd District) and Chief Judge Alexandre Alves Lazzarini (São Paulo Bankruptcy Court- 1st District).
The “A View from the U.S. Bench: Key Structural and Practical Issues of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code–Critical Success Factors” session moderated by Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth S. Stong (E.D.N.Y.) includes Bankruptcy Judges Thomas B. Bennett (D.Ala.), Charles G. Case (D.Ariz.), Barbara Houser (N.D.Texas) andJeffrey P. Hopkins (S.D.Ohio).
Bankruptcy Judge Sidney B. Brooks (D.Colo.) and Adolfo Rouillon, Insolvency Specialist and Legal Vice President for The World Bank (Washington, D.C.) will participate in the “Cooperation, Direct Communication and Coordination of Cross-Border Cases between United States and Brazilian Courts” Session.
“A View from Brazil’s Bench: Key Structural and Practical Issues of Brazil’s New Corporate Bankruptcy and Recovery Law” will feature Judge Manoel de Queiroz Pereira Calças (São Paulo Bankruptcy Court of Appeals) and Chief Judges Carlos Henrique Abrao (São Paulo Court–42nd District), Luiz Roberto Ayoub (Rio de Janeiro Bankruptcy Court–1st District), Maria Lucia Pizzotti Mendes (São Paulo Court–32nd District) and Carlos Magno Rocha da Silva (Goiania–11th District).
The moderator for the
“Lenders’ View: Key Concerns, Relevant Aspects, DIP, Cash
Collateral, Prerequisites” session is Dr. Jorge Queiroz,
IBGT Chair, Managing Principal Alliance Partners–Corporate
Transformation and Turnaround CEO, CRO, Creditors’ Representative
(São Paulo). Joining him on the panel are Wagner Albuquerque de
Almeida, Executive Director, Credit Management of ABN AMRO Real Bank
(
“The Funds: What About the Required Capital?” session, moderated by Antonio Toro, Partner in the Business Recovery Services division of PricewaterhouseCoopers (São Paulo), will be joined by panelists Andre Barbierato, CEO of Buffalo Investments (São Paulo), Luis Leonardo Cantidiano, Board Member of the Brazilian Association of Private Equity and Venture Capital and partner at Motta Fernandes Rocha Advogados (São Paulo), Cristiana Ferraz, Vice President of Emerging Markets, Fixed Income Division, at Lehman Brothers (São Paulo), Felix Hofmann, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley (United Kingdom) and David Martens, Director at ABN-AMRO Bank (New York).
Lionel Zaclis of Barretto Ferreira, Kujawski, Brancher e Gonçalves– Sociedade de Advogados (São Paulo) will moderate the “Financial Institutions and Hedge Funds in Debt Restructurings–Their Own, as Well as Their Role in Corporate Reorganizations” session with panelists Luiz Fernando Valente de Paiva, Partner at Pinheiro Neto Advogados (São Paulo), Brian E. Greer, Counsel at Linklaters LLP (New York), Laura Hatfield, Partner at Solomon Harris (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) and Christopher A. Jarvinen of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (New York) and U.S. Representative to the IBGT.
The “International
Perspective: Key Issues” session, moderated by Luis
Laboissiére, Partner at Lefosse Advogados in cooperation with
Linklaters LLP (
“Oversight and
Administration of Restructuring Cases (judicial administrators,
trustees, examiners)” will be moderated by Josefina Fernandez
McEvoy, Partner at K&L Gates LLP (
Fabio Rosas, Partner of Tozzini Freire Teixeira e Silva Advogados (São Paulo) will moderate “A View from Practitioners: Creditors’ Concerns, including Issues Regarding Creditor Committees, Legal Advisors, Turnaround Professionals, Financial Advisors, Trustees, Successor Liabilities, Asset Pooling and More.” Panelists for the session include Laura Bumachar, Head of Restructuring at Barbosa Mussnich & Aragão Advogados (Rio de Janeiro), Felipe Ribeiro Da Luz Câmara of Tozzini Freire Teixeira e Silva Advogados (São Paulo), Gilberto Deon Correa, Head of Restructuring at Veirano Advogados, Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul), Luiz Eugênio Araújo Müller Filho, Partner at Lobo e Ibeas Advogados (Rio de Janeiro) and Paulo Penalva Santos, Partner at Motta Fernandes Rocha Advogados (Rio de Janeiro).
“Fraudulent
Conveyances,” moderated by Martin S. Zohn, Partner at
Proskauer Rose LLP (
Moderator Eduardo Gomide, Managing Director of Financial Advisory Services at Kroll, Inc (São Paulo) and panelists Edward E. Davis Jr., Partner at Astigarraga Davis LLP (Miami), Antenor Madruga, Brazil’s former National Secretary of Justice and Director of Brazil’s Department of Assets Recovery and International Cooperation (São Paulo) and Andrew Witts, Head of the Commercial Fraud Group at Lawrence Graham LLP (London) will participate in the “Corporate/Financial Frauds, Tracing, Freezing and Recovery of Estate’s Assets—Brazilian and International Perspective: Case Discussions” session.
The closing speech will be
delivered by Hon. Celso Limongi, President of the Superior Court
of the State of São Paulo. The conference will also feature
luncheon speeches by Rafael Guedes, Managing Director at Fitch Ratings
(
###