The Southern District of Texas’s recent popularity in commercial filings, stemming from a number of factors, makes it a new contender to be one of the busiest commercial bankruptcy districts in the country.

During the nearly three-year pendency of the case, the battles between the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the committee representing the survivors of sexual abuse have resulted in court decisions on two subjects of broad importance in chapter 11 cases generally.

In a new development to receivership law, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a receiver’s power to pursue a creditor’s “veil piercing” claims against insiders of the company in receivership, and blocked the creditor from pursuing those same claims after the receivership ended.  

Minnesota has expanded the types and value of assets that individuals may protect from creditors.

In the 8th Circuit, income tax debt owed under late filed tax returns could, under certain circumstances, be discharged by individual debtors in their bankruptcy cases.

Payments made to creditors in the 90-days before a bankruptcy filing can be subject to recovery as “preference claims.”

Are trademarks “intellectual property” under the Bankruptcy Code? According to a recent decision from the First Circuit Court of Appeals, the answer is “no,” and Section 365(n) of the Code does not offer protection to trademark licensees when the licensor files for chapter 11. 

The choice of a chapter 11 operating trustee can provoke a fight. Follow this guide for a smooth path through the process of displacing an interim chapter 11 trustee or challenging an election.

In addition to the normal hurdles debtors face in chapter 11 cases, many energy and farmer debtors must address the safe harbor provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 556, which permit forward contract counterparties to terminate forward contracts immediately after a bankruptcy filing. 

The impact of Jevic may have a wide ranging impact on how Chapter 11 cases are administered in the future.