The primary objective of any buyer at a Section 363 sale, whether one purchasing for cash or an existing secured creditor making a credit bid, is to obtain good title to the purchased assets free and clear of any liens, claims, or interests. However, a recent decision on this subject by the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ("BAP") of the United States

On June 16, 2008, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Florida Dept. of Revenue v. Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc., the case involving whether Section 1146(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, which exempts from stamp or similar taxes any asset transfer “under a plan confirmed under section 1129 of the Code,” applies to transfers of

On Wednesday, March 26, 2008, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Florida Dept. of Revenue v. Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc. A link to the transcript of the oral argument can be found below. The case presents the following question:

Whether section 1146(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, which exempts from

Companies in financial trouble are often forced to liquidate their assets to pay creditors. While a Chapter 11 bankruptcy sometimes makes the most sense, other times a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is required, and in still other situations a corporate dissolution may be best. This post examines another of the options, the assignment for the benefit of creditors

The Delaware Bankruptcy Court has recently adopted amended Local Rules, which became effective on February 1, 2008, and they include meaningful changes to the procedures governing Section 363 sales of assets. New Local Rule 6004-1, entitled "Sale and Sale Procedures Motions," requires additional disclosure and the highlighting of certain key provisions often seen in sale

On December 1st of almost every year, amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure — the ones that govern how bankruptcy cases are managed — take effect to address issues identified by an Advisory Committee made up of federal judges, bankruptcy attorneys, and others. Often the changes are relatively minor and of interest only

David Powlen, Managing Director and Partner at Western Reserve Partners LLC, has an interesting article on the Turnaround Management Association website entitled "Bargains Await Buyers Skilled At Navigating Section 363 Minefields." It gives a good overview of the range of issues that arise in the context of a sale under Bankruptcy

I’ve posted in the past about bankruptcy asset sales and how parties with executory contracts need to keep track of bankruptcy cases to protect their rights. Steve Jakubowski of The Bankruptcy Litigation Blog has an entertaining and informative post about a recent Court of Appeals decision involving rappers, recording companies, copyrights, and bankruptcy that raises some

In many corporate bankruptcy cases, the debtor will use the bankruptcy process to sell its assets and to assume and assign valuable leases, executory contracts, and licenses (see earlier posts on what happens to leases in bankruptcy, to executory contracts, and to intellectual property licenses, a special type of executory contract). 

This post discusses some