No Direct Claims Asserted By Oklahoma Plaintiffs In SemCrude Bankruptcy, Third Circuit Reinstates Permanent Injunction

In re SemCrude L.P., 2015 WL 4635798, — F.3d —- (3d Cir. Aug. 5, 2015)

In a recent precedential Opinion, the Third Circuit reversed a Delaware District Court Opinion and reinstated the Bankruptcy Court’s original Opinion, holding that certain claims brought by a group of SemCrude’s former limited partners (the “Oklahoma Plaintiffs”) against Thomas L. Kivisto, co-founder and former President and CEO of SemCrude L.P. (together with its affiliates, the “Debtors”) were derivative of other claims already brought and settled.  As such, the Third Circuit directed the Bankruptcy Court to enter a permanent injunction against… Read More

Continuous Insolvency Requirement and Irretrievable Insolvency Test Held By Delaware Chancery Court Inapplicable in Creditor-Derivative Claims

Quadrant Structured Prods. Co. v. Vertin, No. 6990-VCL, 2015 WL 2062115 (Del. Ch. May 4, 2015)

In this Opinion, Vice Chancellor Laster addressed two questions with respect to a derivative claim asserted by a creditor on behalf of a corporation – namely (1) whether such claims may be maintained only during the time that a corporation is actually insolvent and (2) whether to establish the insolvency of the corporation, such creditor must show that the corporation has “a deficiency of assets below liabilities with no reasonable prospect that the business can be successfully continued in the face thereof.” … Read More

Derivative Standing to Pursue Recharacterization, Equitable Subordination, and Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims on behalf of Debtors Optim Energy, LLC Denied by Bankruptcy Court

In re Optim Energy, LLC, No. 14-10262 (BLS), 2014 WL 1924908 (Bankr. D. Del. May 13, 2014)

On May 13, 2014, the Honorable Brendan L. Shannon issued an Opinion denying an unsecured creditor’s request for derivative standing to pursue claims on behalf of debtor Optim Energy, LLC (“Optim Energy”) and its affiliated debtors (collectively, the “Debtors”) for recharacterization, equitable subordination, and breach of fiduciary duties against direct and indirect non-debtor owners, ECJV Holdings, LLC (“ECJV”) and Cascade Investments, L.L.C. (“Cascade”).  Walnut Creek Mining Company (“Walnut Creek”), the Debtors’ largest non-insider general unsecured creditor, alleged that the… Read More

Pro Se Plaintiff’s Adversary Complaint Dismissed For Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Carr v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (In re New Century TRS Holdings, Inc.), Adv. No. 13-51058 (KJC), 2014 WL 392848 (Bankr. D. Del. Feb. 3, 2014)

In this Memorandum, Judge Carey dismissed a pro se plaintiff’s adversary complaint because the plaintiff lacked standing to pursue certain claims, and the Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider the remaining.  This decision serves as a reminder that every creditor or party-in-interest, regardless of their legal acumen, should seek counsel to represent them in our Court.

Here, the Court had a difficult time determining what… Read More