Press Releases

Bankruptcy Filings in First Half of 2007 Up 48 Percent from a Year Ago

Contact: John Hartgen
             (703) 739-0800
            
[email protected]

 

BANKRUPTCY FILINGS IN FIRST HALF OF 2007 UP 48 PERCENT FROM A YEAR AGO

August 16, 2007, Alexandria, Va. The total number of U.S. bankruptcies filed during the first six months of 2007 increased 48.23 percent over the same period in 2006 in all bankruptcy court districts, according to data released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Total filings reached 404,090 during the first half of the calendar year of 2007 (January 1-June 30), compared to 272,604 cases filed over the same period in 2006.

“The new upward trend in bankruptcies reflects the economic reality of households under increasing financial stress,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “We expect bankruptcy filings to continue to rise for the balance of 2007.”

Filings by individuals or households with consumer debt increased 48.34 percent to 391,105 for the six-month period ending June 30, 2007, from the 2006 first-half total of 263,660. The overall percentage of consumers filing for chapter 13 protection fell slightly from 41.15 percent during the first half of 2006 (January 1-June 30) to 38.35 percent over the same period in 2007. Conversely, the first-half 2007 percentage of chapter 7 consumer filers increased to 61.58 percent from the 58.76 percent recorded in the first half of 2006.

Business filings for the six-month period ending June 30, 2007, totaled 12,985, representing a 45.18 percent increase over the first-half 2006 total of 8,944. Chapter 7 liquidations increased to 8,404 in the first half of 2007, a 65.21 percent increase over the 5,087 business chapter 7 filings during the same period in 2006. Chapter 11 reorganizations also rose from 2,370 in the first half of 2006 to 2,713 in the same period of 2007, a 14.47 percent increase.

The 751,056 total filings for the 12-month period ending June 30 were down 49.41 percent from the same period in 2006, which totaled 1,484,570 filings, a figure that includes a surge in cases filed before the implementation date of a major change in the law. The bankruptcy filing rate per thousand U.S. residents totaled 2.48 for all chapters during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, as 1.49 Americans per thousand filed for chapter 7 while 0.97 per thousand filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy. Tennessee was the state with the highest per capita filing rate in the country with 6.03 residents per thousand filing in all chapters, and also had the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 13 filings at 3.78. The state with the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 7 bankruptcy was Indiana at 2.98 per thousand for the 12-month period ended June 30, 2007.

Nonbusiness filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, totaled 727,167, down 50 percent from the 1,453,008 total nonbusiness filings experienced over the same period in 2006. Business filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, totaled 23,889, down 24.31 percent from the 31,562 bankruptcy petitions filed in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2006.

The 450,332 total chapter 7 filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, represent a 61.34 percent decrease from the 1,164,815 filings from the same period in 2006. Chapter 13 filings fell 5.87 percent to 294,693 in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, from 313,085 in the same period last year. Chapter 11 filings also declined, falling 10.25 percent to 5,586 in 2007 from 6,224 in 2006. However, chapter 12 filings rose 7.22 percent from 360 in 2006 to 386 in 2007.

BUSINESS FILINGS for the 3-month period ending June 30, 2007, totaled 6,705, up 38.02 percent from the 4,858 bankruptcy business cases filed in the same period in 2006. NON-BUSINESS FILINGS for the 3-month period ending June 30, 2007, increased 34.95 percent from 150,975 in 2006 to 203,744 in 2007.

The chapter* breakdown of BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending June 30, 2007, is: 4,333 chapter 7s, 1,430 chapter 11s, 112 chapter 12s and 821 chapter 13s.

The chapter breakdown of NON-BUSINESS filings for the 3-month period ending June 30, 2007, is: 127,180 chapter 7s, 144 chapter 11s and 76,420 chapter 13s.

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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.

*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.

Subprime Mortgage Crisis Webinar Archive Now Available on ABIWorld.org

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-739-0800
             [email protected]

SUBPRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS WEBINAR ARCHIVE NOW AVAILABLE ON ABIWORLD

September 21, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — Reporters unable to participate in the American Bankruptcy Institute’s live “Subprime Mortgage Crisis” Webinar can now access a recording of the program on ABIWorld.org. The media-only Webinar took place on Sept. 12, offering leading experts on the subprime mortgage crisis with perspectives on future trends and developments in the mortgage industry.

Experts participating in the Webinar included Prof. Anthony M. Yezer of the George Washington University Department of Economics (Washington, D.C.), Ronald F. Greenspan, Senior Managing Director, West Region for FTI Consulting (Los Angeles), and Jeffrey W. Dulberg of Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub LLP (Los Angeles). As millions of homeowners face the possibility of foreclosure, more lenders confront the possibility of bankruptcy and global credit markets continue to tighten, these experts discuss how the subprime mortgage industry reached its current crisis and offer potential remedies to the current subprime mortgage industry downturn.

To access the archived Webinar, please click on the following link:
http://www.abiworld.org/mediastream/2007/subprime_mort/index.html

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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.

Hedge Funds Subprime Mortgages and Professional Fee Study Results among the Timely Topics to be Presented at ABIs Winter Leadership Conference

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-739-0800
             [email protected]

 

HEDGE FUNDS, SUBPRIME MORTGAGES AND PROFESSIONAL FEE STUDY RESULTS AMONG THE TIMELY TOPICS TO BE PRESENTED AT ABI’S WINTER LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

August 27, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI) Nineteenth Annual Winter Leadership Conference will take place Dec. 6-8 at The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The conference will feature 12 bankruptcy judges and address such timely topics as private equity and hedge fund strategies in bankruptcy, the lessons learned from the subprime mortgage industry downturn and issues in health care bankruptcies. The Winter Leadership Conference offers participants the opportunity to earn 11.75 CLE credit hours, including 3.0 hours of ethics. The conference will also include a luncheon featuring Christopher Buckley, best-selling author, social and political satirist and editor of Forbes Life.

A plenary session presentation of the results of ABI’s professional fee study, supported by a grant from the ABI Endowment Fund, will be moderated byMichael P. Richman of Foley & Lardner LLP (New York). Panelists for the presentation include C.R. “Chip” Bowles, Jr. of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC (Louisville, Ky.), John Wm. Butler, Jr. of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Chicago), Prof. Stephen J. Lubben of Seton Hall Law School (Newark, N.J.), Deirdre A. Martini of CIT Group, Inc. (New York), Prof. Nancy B. Rapoport of the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada (Las Vegas), Bankruptcy Judge Wesley W. Steen (Houston), Albert Togut of Togut, Togut & Segal, LLP (New York) and Clifford J. White III of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees (Washington, D.C.).

Panel sessions include:

“Loan-to-Own Strategies of Hedge Funds and Private Equity Firms,” moderated by Stephen S. Gray of CRG Partners Group LLC (Boston), includes panelists Paul Coughlin of Longroad Asset Management, LLC (Stamford, Conn.), Bankruptcy Judge Allan L. Gropper (New York), Larry G. Halperin of Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP (New York), Aziz Hassanali of Anchorage Advisors, LLC (New York) and Andrew I. Silfen of Arent Fox LLP (New York).

Moderator Joseph Samet of Baker & McKenzie LLP (New York), along with panelists Patti H. Bass of Bass & Associates, P.C. (Tucson, Ariz.), Robert N.H. Christmas of Nixon Peabody LLP (New York) and Bankruptcy Judges Bruce A. Markell (Las Vegas) and Thomas F. Waldron (Dayton, Ohio), will participate in the “BAPCPA in the Courts: How Judicial Interpretation of the New Provisions Affects Your Cases” session.

The “Trying Valuation (on a Budget): Consumer Case Examples” session will be moderated by Dillon E. Jackson of Foster Pepper PLLC (Seattle) and joined by panelists Ford Elsaesser of Elsaesser, Jarzabek, Anderson, Marks, Elliott & McHugh, Chtd. (Sandpoint, Idaho), Richardo I. Kilpatrick of Kilpatrick & Associates, PC (Auburn Hills, Mich.), Claire Ann Resop of Brennan, Steil & Basting, SC (Madison, Wis.) and Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes (Detroit).

The “Subprime Paradigm: Lessons on Maximizing Value from the Subprime, 1031 and Servicer Cases” session, moderated by Lawrence E. Young of AlixPartners LLP (Dallas), features panelists John Anderson of RBS Greenwich Capital (Greenwich, Conn.), Melanie L. Cyganowski of Greenberg Traurig, LLP (New York), Jeffrey W. Dulberg of Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub LLP (Los Angeles), Bankruptcy Judge Linda B. Riegle (Las Vegas) and Eric Sagerman of Winston & Strawn LLP (Los Angeles).

“Health Care Cases: Financing, Financial Management and Exit,” to be moderated by Samuel R. Maizel of Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub LLP (Los Angeles) includes panelists Paul E. Harner of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (Chicago), Shane A. Passarelli of Healthcare Finance Group, Inc. (Los Angeles), Louis E. Robichaux, IV of Bridge Associates, LLC (New York) and Joseph Tutera of The Tutera Group (Kansas City, Mo.).

Moderator James T. Markus of Block, Markus & Williams, LLC (Denver) and panelists Barry Lefkowitz, CIRA, of Virchow Krause & Company, LLP (Southfield, Mich.), Patricia A. Redmond of Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, PA (Miami) and James Patrick Shea of Shea & Carlyon, Ltd. (Las Vegas) will participate in the “Individual Chapter 11: The New ‘Small Business’ Option?” session.

The “Ethics, E-mail, the Web and the Blogosphere: Rules and Values for Practice in Cyberspace” plenary session will be moderated by Terri L. Gardner of Poyner & Spruill LLP; (Raleigh, N.C.) and include panelists Bankruptcy Judge Samuel L. Bufford (Los Angeles), Prof. Paula Franzese of Seton Hall Law School (Newark, N.J.), Will Hornsby of the American Bar Association (Chicago) and author of Boundaries of Legal Marketing, and J. Charles Mokriski of Day Pitney (Boston).

Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff (Chicago) will moderate the “Supreme Court Year in Review (and in Prospect)” Judges’ Roundtable, featuring Bankruptcy Judges Dennis R. Dow (Kansas City, Mo.), Joan N. Feeney (Boston), Judith K. Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh) and Jim D. Pappas (Boise, Idaho).

For more information on the Winter Leadership Conference, please visit http://www.abiworld.org/WLC07.  

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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.

Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Increase 17 Percent in August

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-739-0800
             [email protected]


CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS INCREASE 17 PERCENT IN AUGUST

September 6, 2007, Alexandria, Va. U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings increased 17.3 percent nationwide in August from the previous month, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). Relying on data provided by the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC), overall consumer filings totaled 74,607 in August, up from the 63,600 filings in July. The figure was also up 31.2 percent from August 2006. Chapter 13 filings constituted 39.6 percent of all consumer cases in August, down slightly from last month.  

'The uptick in August bankruptcies continues the trend we've seen all year,' observed ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. 'Families facing heavy household debts are increasingly turning to bankruptcy as a short-term fix.'

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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.

Professor Mark S. Scarberry to Serve as ABI Resident Scholar for Fall 2007 Semester

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-739-0800
             [email protected]


 

PROFESSOR MARK S. SCARBERRY TO SERVE AS ABI RESIDENT SCHOLAR FOR FALL 2007 SEMESTER

September 7, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — Prof. Mark S. Scarberry, Professor of Law at the Pepperdine University School of Law, will serve as the Robert M. Zinman ABI Resident Scholar for the Fall 2007 semester. Prof. Scarberry will serve in ABI's Alexandria, Va., office from September to December, assisting ABI with its educational programming and in its role as the authoritative source of bankruptcy information for the Congress, media and public.

Prof. Scarberry’s work focuses on bankruptcy (particularly chapter 11 business reorganization), contracts, legal philosophy and constitutional law (particularly freedom of religion).  A member of Pepperdine’s faculty since 1982, Scarberry currently teaches insolvency courses focused on remedies, creditors' rights and bankruptcy, business reorganization in bankruptcy, and mergers and acquisitions. Scarberry's bankruptcy scholarship includes Scarberry, Klee, Newton & Nickles'Business Reorganization in Bankruptcy: Cases and Materials (now in its third edition from Thomson Gale Publishing (2006)).

In addition to teaching and writing, he has prepared training materials and helped attorneys provide pro bono help to low-income consumer bankruptcy debtors as part of the L.A. County Bar Association/Public Counsel Debtor Assistance Project. Prior to joining the faculty at Pepperdine, he practiced law for four years with Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue (Los Angeles).  Prof. Scarberry received his J.D. from University of California, Los Angeles, in 1978 and his A.B. magna cum laude from Occidental College in 1975.

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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.

Unreimbursed Medical Expenses of Retirees Entitled to Priority Status in Bankruptcy Proceeding According to Latest ABI Poll

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-739-0800
             [email protected]

 

UNREIMBURSED MEDICAL EXPENSES OF RETIREES ENTITLED TO PRIORITY STATUS IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING, ACCORDING TO LATEST ABI POLL

August 21, 2007, Alexandria, Va. —A majority of respondents (52 percent) to ABI’s latest online poll agreed that unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by retirees of a bankrupt firm are entitled to priority status under the Bankruptcy Code. Forty-two percent of respondents “strongly agreed” and 10 percent “somewhat agreed” that unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by retirees are entitled to priority status in a bankrupt firm’s proceeding under §507(a)(5), subject to the temporal and dollar limitations set forth in the section.

Twenty-nine percent of respondents, however, did not agree that medical expenses of retirees should receive a priority status under §507(a)(5).  Twenty percent “strongly disagreed” and 9 percent “somewhat disagreed” that unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by retirees of a bankrupt firm are entitled to a priority status under §507(a)(5), subject to the temporal and dollar limitations set forth in the section. Seventeen percent of the respondents did not know or had no opinion on the issue.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California recently ruled in In re Consolidated Freightways Corp. of Delaware (Bankr. C.D. Cal. No RS02-24284 4/26/07) that retiree medical expenses are entitled to priority status under §507(a)(5), subject to the temporal and dollar limitations set forth in the section. The court noted that the legislative history and the public policy behind §507(a)(5) compelled it to include retired employees within the cap amount for a priority status claim. 

ABI members and members of the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement: “Subject to the temporal and dollar limitations set forth in §507(a)(5), unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by retirees of a bankrupt firm are entitled to priority status under §507(a)(5). (In re Consolidated Freightways Corp. of Delaware, (Bankr. C.D. Cal. No. RS02-24284 MG 4/26/07). The latest ABI Quick Poll was open to the public for voting from August 3-16.

ABI’s weekly Quick Poll is posted on ABI’s home page, www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/ to access the results of previous ABI Quick Polls.

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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 nearly 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.

Intellectual Property Law and Chapter 11 Essentials Explored in Two New Products from the ABI Bookstore

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-739-0800
             [email protected]


 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW AND CHAPTER 11 ESSENTIALS EXPLORED IN TWO NEW PRODUCTS FROM THE ABI BOOKSTORE!

September 17, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — Two new titles are now available for purchase from the American Bankruptcy Institute’s bookstore to help bankruptcy professionals navigate important areas of their practice. Bankruptcy and its Impact on Intellectual Property covers the basics of IP law, including a description of property rights, license and assignment issues and infringements. Intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets) can become a significant asset of a debtor’s estate and special rules apply, depending on whether the assets are defined as property of the estate or an executory contract. The manual, written by Patricia S. Rogowski of Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP (Wilmington, Del.) and Craig B. Young of Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP (Washington, D.C.), outlines what parties can do in a bankruptcy to protect intellectual property rights, including the debtor-in-possession’s ability to assign IP licenses.

Also available is theChapter 11-'101:' The Essentials of Chapter 11 Practice CD-Rom, a compilation and expansion of a series of articles first written for the ABIJournal, ABI’s flagship periodical, during 2004 and 2005. Updated and assembled in a handy electronic format, the work is an essential but fast read for new restructuring professionals from attorneys to financial restructuring advisors. More than 20 chapters of topics are covered by authors Jonathan P. Friedland of Schiff Hardin LLP (Chicago), Michael L. Bernstein of Arnold & Porter LLP (Washington, D.C.), Prof. George W. Kuney of Universityof Tennessee’s College of Law (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Prof. JackAyer of theUC Davis School of Law (Chico, Calif.), with extensive supplemental materials from actual cases.

 

Both the softbound, 100-page Bankruptcy and its Impact on Intellectual Property manual and Chapter 11-'101:' The Essentials of Chapter 11 Practice CD-Rom are available for purchase. Click here to order from the online ABI Bookstore.
http://www.abiworld.org/AM/template.cfm?Section=bookstore

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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.

ABI Endowment to Fund Study of Claims Trading Associated with Chapter 11 Bankruptcies

Contact: John Hartgen
             (703) 739-0800
            
[email protected]

 

ABI ENDOWMENT TO FUND STUDY OF CLAIMS TRADING ASSOCIATED WITH CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCIES

August 30, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute Endowment Fund has awarded a $36,900 grant to an international research team examining claims trading in large chapter 11 cases. The researchers—Prof. David C. Smith of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, Prof. Per Strömberg of the Swedish Institute for Financial Research and the Stockholm School of Economics, and Tinamarie Feil of the BMC Group, Inc.—will document the extent to which the ownership of claims in large bankrupt firms changes hands, and will attempt to assess the impact that claims ownership has on the outcome of companies’ bankruptcy status.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to pursue research into this important and timely subject, and we are honored to be supported in our efforts by the ABI,” said Smith. “No study has yet documented the extent to which chapter 11-related claims trading occurs, or how it might ultimately affect the health of the bankrupt company.  It is fitting that the ABI, as the premier professional organization in the field of insolvency, will play a key role in shedding light on these matters.”

The researchers will investigate a number of fundamental issues associated with claims trading, seeking to identify the attributes that make certain firms more likely to experience high levels of such trading, and who the typical buyers and sellers are in claims trading transactions.  They will also examine whether the trading activities of distressed investors affect the likelihood of a successful reorganization and if the claims trading process leads to a redistribution of value among different claimants.

The primary source for the researchers will be the records maintained by information management companies that act as claims administrators in chapter 11 cases. These companies aid debtors in building and maintaining complete claimant lists, and help prepare a creditor matrix, assets and liabilities schedules, and other claimant-related information for their debtor client. The researchers will also use additional information on large borrower loan deals to obtain the identities of senior bank claimants and to gather information on the participants in DIP loans.

Prior to joining the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, Prof. Smith worked as an economist in the International Finance Division of the Federal Reserve Board.  Prof. Strömberg is a senior research fellow at the Swedish Institute of Financial Research, as well as associate professor of Finance at the Stockholm School of Economics and adjunct associate professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Feil is a co-founder and president of Legal Services at BMC Group, an information management company, and has more than 20 years’ experience directing various aspects of corporate compliance, communications and insolvency transactions.

The ABI Endowment Fund was created in 1989 to provide a secure financial base for the Institute and to provide resources for insolvency research and education. Projects eligible for Endowment funding include research by individuals or entities relating to bankruptcy or insolvency; surveys or other analytical investigation; the education of judges, court personnel, other governmental personnel and the general public; scholarships or other educational grants; support for the Robert M. Zinman Resident Scholar; and support for both the Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Memorial Moot Court Competition and ABI’s Corporate Restructuring Competition. Since 1998, the Fund has awarded nearly $750,000 in grants.

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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

ABIs Fourth Annual Caribbean Insolvency Symposium Examines Hedge Funds and Other Cross-Border Insolvency Issues

Contact: John Hartgen
             703-739-0800
             [email protected]


 

ABI’S FOURTH ANNUAL CARIBBEAN INSOLVENCY SYMPOSIUM EXAMINES HEDGE FUNDS AND OTHER CROSS-BORDER INSOLVENCY ISSUES

October 9, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) will hold the fourth Caribbean Insolvency Symposium at the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Fla., Jan. 17-18, 2008. The program features a faculty of outstanding practitioners, scholars and judges, including seven bankruptcy judges from the Caribbean region. Program co-chairs for the Symposium are Patricia A. Redmond of Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, PA (Miami) and Sonia Colón (Orlando). Judicial co-chairs are Bankruptcy Judges Gerardo Carlo (San Juan, P.R.) and Robert A. Mark (Miami). Attendees have the opportunity to earn up to 7.5 CLE credit hours, including 1.0 hour of ethics, with an expanded program including two great debates and a discussion of hedge fund issues.

This year’s Symposium will incorporate ABI’s acclaimed “Great Debates” series with two debates looking at timely cross-border issues. The first debate features Lisa Beckerman of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP (New York) squaring off with Guy Locke of Walkers Global (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) over “Forum-Shopping in the Caribbean.” The second debate, “The Future of “in Pari Delicto,” features Scott L. Baena of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, LLP (Miami) and Francis C. Morrisey of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP (Boston).

Josefina Fernandez McEvoy of K&L Gates LLP (Los Angeles) will moderate the “Nuts and Bolts of Chapter 15 Filing: Cases/Updates” session with panelists including Bankruptcy Judge Gerardo Carlo (San Juan, P.R.), Aristos Galatapoulos of Maples and Calder (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands), Daniel M. Glosband of Goodwin Procter LLP (Boston) and Gregory S. Grossman of Astigarraga Davis (Miami).

The “View from the Bench - Litigation Issues” session will be moderated by David A. Rosendorf of Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, PA (Miami) with Bankruptcy Judges Gerardo Carlo (San Juan, P.R.),  Joan N. Feeney (Boston),  Laurel M. Isicoff (Miami), Enrique S. Lamoutte (San Juan, P.R.), Robert A. Mark (Miami) and John K. Olson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).

“Poster Child of Troubled Industries in the Caribbean - The Hedge Funds,” moderated by Carol Logue of Bridge Associates, LLC (Spring, Texas), will feature panelists Anne E. Beaumont of Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman, LLP (New York), Timothy W. Mungovan of Nixon Peabody LLP (Boston) and Prof. David A. Skeel, Jr. of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (Philadelphia) and former ABI Resident Scholar.

“Offshore or Off the Map? Recent Liquidation Issues for Offshore Registered Hedge Funds” features moderator Laura Hatfield of Solomon Harris (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) and panelists Sam Dawson of Solomon Harris (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands), Nigel K. Meeson of Conyers Dill & Pearman (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) and Simon Whicker of KPMG LLP (Grand Cayman; Cayman Islands).

Bankruptcy Judge. Paul G. Hyman (West Palm Beach, Fla.) will moderate the “Best Practices/Ethical Practice in the Region” session with panelists Gregory H. Hodges of Dudley, Topper and Feuerzeig, LLP (St. Thomas, V.I.), Assistant U.S. Trustee Monsita Lecaroz (San Juan, P.R.) and ABI Deputy Executive Director Felicia S. Turner.

The “Cross-Border Asset Protection and Recovery” session will be moderated by Allison A. Day of Genovese Joblove & Battista, P.A. (Miami) and include panelists Michelle Campbell of AlixPartners LLP (Los Angeles), Edwardo Romero-Ramos of Baker & MacKenzie International (Juarez, Mexico), Paul S. Singerman of Berger Singerman PA (Miami) and Jerome L. Wolf of Duane Morris(Boca Raton, Fla.).

For more information on ABI’s 2008 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium, please visit http://www.abiworld.net/meetings/caribbean-insolvency-symposium/.   

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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.

September Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Increase 23 Percent over Previous Year

Contact: John Hartgen
             (703) 739-0800
             
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SEPTEMBER CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS INCREASE 23 PERCENT OVER PREVIOUS YEAR

October 2, 2007, Alexandria, Va. U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings increased nearly 23 percent nationwide in September from the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). Yet according to data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC), the overall September consumer filing total of 68,926 represented a 7.6 percent decrease from the 74,607 filings in August. Chapter 13 filings constituted 40 percent of all consumer cases in September, a slight increase over the previous six months. 

“Bankruptcy filings are elevated from a year ago and likely to uptick further through the end of the year,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano.  “Continued pressure on housing markets, combined with high consumer debt burdens, will lead more households to consider bankruptcy as an option to their financial problems.”

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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.