Subchapter V

Subscribe to Subchapter V

Mercifully, I’m going to experiment with how short I can make case summaries. Earlier this month, Michigan Bankruptcy Judge Applebaum denied confirmation in Lapeer Aviation’s Subchapter V bankruptcy cases. Lapeer operates the Dupont-Lapeer Airport (D95), which is about 25 miles east of Flint. Before addressing 4 objections, which were raised in a two-day evidentiary hearing , the Court reminds us that, even without objections, it has an independent duty to inquire into the plan confirmation requirements.

Ultimately, the Court denied confirmation for liquidation test and unfair discrimination reasons.…

Continue Reading Michigan Bankruptcy Court Examines Subchapter V Confirmation Requirements

[Today’s post is from Braden Copeland, a Mercer 3L. He joined us as a Summer Associate in 2021. We’re delighted that he’ll come on as an Associate after he graduates this Spring. I asked him to look for a confirmation-related Subchapter V opinion and write something up for the blog. I’m thrilled to have the help. P.S. A too-early-in-the-year plan confirmation trial delayed our New Year’s post, but it’s still coming! – Dave]

I’m not prejudging it but I think the Trustee’s objection is an uphill battle simply because it sounds almost like he is arguing the 1111(b) election itself is not fair and equitable, which of course there is a reason it exists. But perhaps it is the application of the election and the facts and circumstances of this case that is not fair and equitable and whether or not we can go down that path.

— Judge Thomas Saladino, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska, as heard in a status teleconference on September 22, 2021.

Well, the court went down that path.

But, first, let me back up……

Continue Reading Confirmation DENIED: Subchapter V Trustee Challenges 1111(b) Election

Last night we blogged about the $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill that proposes to increase the SBRA small business debt limit in Subchapter V Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases from approximately $2.7 million to $7.5 million, at least for the next year. The Senate approved the legislation late last night, 96-0, and it’s now headed to…

We spent the last part of February blogging about the first series of substantive opinions under the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), which became effective on February 19, 2020. That news seems rather quaint a month later, as the world, and now the U.S., is in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, those worlds collided for me when my client in the Northern District of Georgia, a Subchapter V debtor, let me know that he had to shut down both of his business locations in response to Gov. Kemp’s COVID-19 order. And this morning, we all woke-up to news that Congress was close to passing a $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill, potentially the largest emergency aid package in U.S. history. …

Continue Reading COVID-19 Stimulus Package May Temporarily Increase SBRA Chapter 11 Debt Limit to $7,500,000