As I previously blogged about, there is a circuit split as to whether, when a trademark owner/licensor files for bankruptcy, the licensee of the trademark can legally continue use of the mark or whether the trademark owner/licensor can reject its obligations under the licensing agreement and effectively prohibit the licensee’s continued use of the mark.
U.S. Bankruptcy Code
Hawaii Bankruptcy Appeal Serves as a Reminder on Preferential Transfers
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
In an appeal from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaii, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii determined when the date of the transfer occurred for the purposes of a preferential transfer asserted by a trustee pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §547. See Coulson v. Kane (In re Price), Civ.…
U.S. Supreme Court finds Debt obtained by False Promises to Pay, Dischargeable
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
Samuel Goodstein writes:
The U.S. Supreme Court resolved a dispute about whether debts obtained by false promises to pay (or fraud) can be discharged in bankruptcy.
On June 4, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion affirming the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling that false statements related to a single…
PA Court Finds Funds Returned to Debtor After an Actual Fraudulent Transfer Not Recoverable
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
Recently, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania clarified that funds returned to the debtor are not recoverable as intentional fraudulent transfers. See Holber v. Nikparvar (In re Incare, LLC), Adv. No. 14-0248 (Bankr. E.D.Pa. May 7, 2018).
The Debtor, Incare, LLC, was a medical care provider that provided services to…
The Safe Harbor Provision of the Bankruptcy Code Redefined
The United States Supreme Court recently issued a ruling in which it held that the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor provision § 546(e) does not prevent a trustee from clawing back transfers involving securities and financial institutions in circumstances when such institutions serve as mere pass-through entities for the transfer. The decision, Merit Management Group, LP …
Recovery in Fraudulent Transfer Litigation in Delaware Bankruptcy Court is Not Capped by the Amount of Creditor Claims
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
In PAH Litigation Trust v. Water Street Healthcare Partners, LP (In re Physiotherapy Holdings, Inc.), Case No. 13-12965 (KG), Adv. No. 15-51238 (KG), 2017 WL 5054308 (Bankr. D. Del. Nov. 1, 2017), the debtor entered into bankruptcy after a leveraged-buyout transaction (“LBO”). After a plan was confirmed, a resulting litigation trust brought actual and constructive…
Supreme Court’s Recent Ruling in Lakeridge Provides Little Guidance on Evaluating Creditors as Non-Statutory Insiders
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
On March 5, 2018, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n v. Village at Lakeridge, LLC, which addressed a single question: Whether the Ninth Circuit properly reviewed for clear error (rather than de novo) the Bankruptcy Court’s determination that a certain individual was not qualify as a non-statutory insider. The…
Trustee Retains Right to Jury in Fraudulent Transfer Actions Even If Waived by Debtor Before Bankruptcy
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida recently held that a chapter 7 trustee is not bound by a debtor’s pre-bankruptcy waiver of its jury rights for fraudulent transfer claims brought by the trustee under Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code. In Bakst v. Bank Leumi, USA (In re DIT, Inc.), 575…