Recent Developments

As discussed in an earlier post called "On The Rise: Bankruptcy Dollar Amounts Will Increase On April 1, 2010," various dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code and related statutory provisions were increased for cases filed on or after April 1, 2010. Now several official bankruptcy forms have been revised to reflect these new dollar amounts.

As I have reported over the past several years, Delaware courts, including the Delaware Supreme Court, have addressed the nature of a director's fiduciary duties when a Delaware corporation is insolvent or in the "zone of insolvency," most notably with the 2007 decision in North American Catholic Educational Programming, Inc. v. Gheewalla, et al., 930 A.2d 92 (Del. 2007). To read that decision, click on the case name in the prior sentence.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee issued a decision holding that creditors sued for preferences can assert a new value defense based on the goods provided to a debtor in the 20 days before the bankruptcy case was filed.

The Winter 2010 edition of the Absolute Priority newsletter, published by the Cooley Godward Kronish LLP Bankruptcy & Restructuring group, of which I am a member, has just been released. The newsletter gives updates on current developments and trends in the bankruptcy and workout area.

It hasn't gotten much publicity yet, but certain dollar amounts in the Bankruptcy Code will be increased for cases filed on or after April 1, 2010. You can find a chart listing all of the changes on this Federal Register page, which printed last month's official notice from the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Among the most meaningful increases for Chapter 11 and other business bankruptcy cases: