Security Interest Determined as of the Date of Petition, Not the Transaction, for Purposes of Stating a Preference Claim Under Section 547(b)(5)

Simplexity, LLC v. Sprint Corp. (In re Simplexity, LLC), 578 B.R. 255 (Bankr. D. Del. 2017)

In this Opinion, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court addressed when a security interest is determined for purposes of stating a preference claim under section 547(b)(5) of the Bankruptcy Code.  Distinguishing an earlier ruling by the Court in the context of insurance premium financing, Judge Kevin Gross ruled that security interests generally must be determined as of the petition date rather than the transaction date.  Judge Gross also set forth guidelines for how the valuation should be conducted using an “add back” method.

Under… Read More

In One of Her Honor’s Last Decisions as a Delaware District Court Judge, The Honorable Sue L. Robinson Clarifies the Distinction Between “Advance Payments” and “Payments on Account of an Antecedent Debt”

Pirinate Consulting Group, LLC v. Kadant Solutions Division (In re NewPage Corp.), No. 16-955 (SLR), 2017 WL 2964803 (D. Del. 2017)

In this appeal to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, Judge Sue L. Robinson examines the distinction between “advanced payments” required under a contract and payments “on account of an antecedent debt” for purposes of section 547(b) of the Bankruptcy Code.

The Litigation Trustee of the NP Creditor Litigation Trust (the “Trustee”) sought to avoid from Kadant Solutions Divisions (“Kadant”) alleged preferential transfers, including a payment in the amount of… Read More

Tribal Sovereign Immunity Bars Preference Claims Against Casinos Subject to Recoupment Rights

Casino Caribbean, LLC v. Money Ctrs. of Am., Inc. (In re Money Ctrs. of Am., Inc.), Adv. Nos. 14-50437 (CSS), 16-50410 (CSS), 2017 WL 775780 (Bankr. D. Del. Feb. 28, 2017)

In this Opinion, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court addressed for the first time whether tribal sovereign immunity bars preference actions against casinos operated by (or on behalf of) Indian tribes.  After considering split authority from other jurisdictions, the Court ruled that it does, although the right to use preference liability defensively in support of a recoupment claim may still be preserved.

The facts underlying the Opinion concern preference claims brought… Read More

Executoriness for Purposes of Kiwi Defense to Preference Action Determined on a Contract by Contract Basis; Purchase Orders Issued under Master Agreement Were Separate Divisible Contracts

PIRINATE Consulting Grp., LLC v. C.R. Meyer & Sons Co. (In re NewPage Corp.), No. 13-52429 (KG), 2017 WL 571478 (Bankr. D. Del. Feb. 13, 2017)

The Litigation Trustee (“Trustee”) of the NP Creditor Litigation Trust brought this adversary proceeding against C.R. Meyer & Sons Co. (“CRM”) seeking to avoid and recover over $2.3 million in alleged preferential transfers.  NewPage Corporation (“NewPage”) and its affiliates (collectively, “Debtors”) operated paper mills throughout the United States, and CRM handled maintenance and construction at the Escanaba, Michigan and Duluth, Minnesota mills.  Prior to the Debtors’ bankruptcy filing, the parties entered into… Read More

Set Off of Administrative Claim Against Preference Liability is Permissible and Not a “Disguised New Value Defense”

Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors of Quantum Foods, LLC v. Tyson Foods, Inc. (In re Quantum Foods, LLC), No. 15-50254 (KJC), 2016 WL 4011727 (Bankr. D. Del. July 25, 2016)

In this Opinion, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court addressed a question that remained in the wake of the Third Circuit’s Opinion in Friedman’s: although post-petition goods and services may not be counted as subsequent new value under section 547(c)(4) of the Bankruptcy Code, may they still be used to offset alleged preference liability?  See Friedman’s Liquidating Tr. v. Roth Staffing Co., LP (In re Friedman’s Inc.), 738… Read More

Third Circuit Holds that Minimum Threshold under Section 547(c)(9) Requires Transfer-by-Transfer Analysis

Slobodian v. U.S. Internal Revenue Serv. (In re Net Pay Solutions, Inc.), No. 15-2833, 2016 WL 2731676 (3d. Cir. May 10, 2016)

In this precedential Opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (the “Third Circuit”) addressed whether multiple transfers may be aggregated for purposes of meeting the statutory minimum under section 547(c)(9) of the Bankruptcy Code.  The Court affirmed the ruling of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (the “District Court”) that they may not be aggregated where the transfers are for the benefit of different creditors on distinct… Read More

District Court Affirms Bankruptcy Court Decision on Ordinary Course of Business and Remands Subsequent New Value and Prejudgment Interest Rulings for Further Findings

Prudential Real Estate v. Burtch (In re AE Liquidation, Inc.), Civ. Nos. 13-1504 & 13-1505 (LPS), 2015 WL 5301553 (D. Del. Sept. 10, 2015), aff’g in part, rev’g in part Burtch v. Prudential Real Estate (In re AE Liquidation, Inc.), Nos. 08-13031 & 10-55543 (MFW), 2013 WL 3778141 (Bankr. D. Del. July 17, 2013)

In this appeal and cross appeal to the Delaware District Court, Judge Leonard P. Stark affirmed a Bankruptcy Court ruling that payments made an average of 17 days faster during the preference period were not eligible for the ordinary course of business defense under section 547(c)(2)… Read More

Preference Defendant Establishes Ordinary Course Of Business Defense Despite Ruling To The Contrary On Summary Judgment

Burtch v. Revchem Composites, Inc. (In re Sierra Concrete Design, Inc.), Adv. No. 10-52667 (CSS), 2015 WL 4381571 (Bankr. D. Del. July 16, 2015)

After a trial on the merits, the Bankruptcy Court issued an Opinion and entered judgment for defendant Revchem Composites, Inc. (“Revchem”), finding that Revchem established that all of the transactions in question were made in the ordinary course of business, thereby protected from avoidance as a preference.  The ruling came after the Court’s previous Opinion whereby Judge Sontchi held, on summary judgment, that “the parties’ pre-preference relationship was insufficient to establish the existence of… Read More

Court Addresses Standards for Insolvency, Piercing the Corporate Veil Under Delaware Law, Avoiding Alleged Fraudulent Transfers, and More

Burtch v. Opus, LLC (In re Opus East, LLC), Adv. Proc. No. 11-52423 (MFW), 2015 WL 1404959 (Bankr. D. Del. March 23, 2015)

In this Opinion, Judge Mary F. Walrath addressed 67 counts brought by a chapter 7 trustee (the “Trustee”) against former fiduciaries of the debtor and related business entities.  The Trustee alleged theories of piercing the corporate veil, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, successor liability, avoidance of fraudulent and preferential transfers, unjust enrichment, disallowance and equitable subordination of claims, revocation of certificate of dissolution, imposition of constructive trust, tortious interference… Read More

What Is The Proper Method For Analyzing Timing Of Payments For The Ordinary Course Of Business?

Stanziale v. Indus. Specialists Inc., a/k/a Indus. Specialists, LLC (In re Conex Holdings, LLC), Adv. No. 12-51170 (CSS), 2014 WL 7205203 (Bankr. D. Del. Dec. 18, 2014)

The Court in this Opinion addressed and clarified the methodology for showing whether payment timing is “ordinary” under the subjective prong of section 547(c)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code.  In so doing, it eschewed the use of weighted averages or other statistical methodologies, and found that payments were ordinary when they were within the range of the parties’ historical dealings and close to the historical average.

Under the facts of the case, the chapter… Read More