Delaware District Court Disagrees with Bankruptcy Court’s Ruling and Holds That Committee’s Challenge Rights Survived Entry of the Sale Order and Consummation of Sale

Emerald Capital Advisors v. Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC, et al. (In re Katy Industries, Inc.), 18-cv-01081 (D. Del. 2019)

In this decision, the Delaware District Court reversed in part the Delaware Bankruptcy Court’s July 6, 2018 ruling issued in the chapter 11 cases of In re Katy Industries, Inc. dismissing with prejudice the Committee’s complaint for, among other things, recharacterization and equitable subordination of $7.5 million of the secured lenders’ claim despite clear language in the Sale Order preserving the Committee’s challenge rights.  In reversing and remanding to the Bankruptcy Court, Chief Judge Stark held… Read More

Challenge of Secured Creditors’ Liens and Claims by a Plaintiff Without Court’s Prior Blessing and Grant of Standing Survives Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment

AI Int’l Holdings (BVI) Ltd. v. MUFG Union Bank, N.A., et al. (In re The Weinstein Co. Holdings, LLC, et al.), No. 18-10601 (MFW), 2018 WL 6841349 (Bankr. D. Del. Dec. 20, 2018)

In this Memorandum Opinion, Judge Walrath of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court was given the rare opportunity to review and interpret language contained in the final order authorizing the Weinstein debtors (the “Debtors”) to obtain post-petition financing (the “Final DIP Order”) governing the investigation and challenge of the liens and claims of the Debtors’ prepetition lenders (the “Defendants”).  More specifically, Her Honor was tasked with… Read More

Insider’s Scoop: An Rare Examination of Challenge Period and Release Provisions in a Final DIP Order

n re Outer Harbor Terminal, LLC, 16-10283 (LSS) (Bench Ruling, May 5, 2017)

In issuing this Bench Ruling, the Honorable Laurie Selber Silverstein of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court had the unusual opportunity to analyze and parse challenge period and lender release provisions contained in a final DIP order.  Examining the plain language of the provisions in light of the entire context of the DIP documents before it, the Court concluded that a creditors committee’s investigation period expired long before it was formed by the United States Trustee.  Her Honor also held that the general… Read More

Committee Professionals’ Carve-Out in DIP Financing Order Not Per Se Limit on Fees

In re Molycorp, Inc., No. 15-11357(CSS), 2017 WL 56703 (Bankr. D. Del. Jan. 5, 2017)

In this Opinion, Judge Sontchi found, among other things, that an unambiguous carve-out provision of a debtor-in-possession financing order (the “DIP Financing Order”) did not cap the professional fees and expenses of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the “Committee”) given that a plan of reorganization was confirmed.  Moreover, because the Committee’s professional did not agree to different treatment, its fees and expenses were administrative expenses that must be paid in full.

In Molycorp, the Committee, the debtor Molycorp, Inc. (the “Debtor”), and the DIP… Read More