Setoff

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently became the first circuit court to address the question of whether a corporate parent can set off an obligation that it owes to a bankrupt company against a claim owed by such company to the parent’s subsidiary. A couple of years ago, in the chapter 11 case of Orexigen Therapeutics in the District of Delaware, former Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross denied a motion to allow such a “triangular” setoff.

In the recent decision of Miller v. Zurich American Ins. Co. (In re WL Homes LLC, et al.), Adv. No. 11-50839 (BLS) (Bankr. Del. Jan. 10, 2017), the Delaware Bankruptcy Court addressed the affirmative defense of recoupment asserted by an insurer in defense of an adversary proceeding seeking the return of insurance premium overpayments.

Background

If you have defended a few preference actions, I’ll bet that you’ve heard this one from your client more than once: “Can I countersue them for what they owe me?" The obvious (to a bankruptcy lawyer) and correct response is “no,” but you might not have been 100% glib if called upon to explain why. Now the Ninth Circuit has come to your rescue, and you can just say “In re Adbox, Inc., 2007 WL 1584582 (9th Cir. June 4, 2007).