“A Bitter Result”: Purdue Pharma, a Sackler Bankruptcy Filing, and Improving Monetary and Nonmonetary Recoveries in Mass Tort Bankruptcies
by | posted in: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Reform, Chapter 11, Corporate Governance, fraudulent transfer, Mass Torts, Third-Party Releases | 0

By William Organek (Harvard Law School)

William Organek

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in 2019 to resolve thousands of opioid-related lawsuits.  Two years after filing, a reorganization plan was confirmed: in exchange for a financial contribution of several billion dollars by the Sackler family and relinquishment of their ownership in Purdue, the family would be released from all civil liability associated with their ownership and control of Purdue.  Individual claimants, state attorneys general, the United States Trustee, the Department of Justice, Congress, academics, and others criticized the settlement as an abuse of the bankruptcy system.  These parties contended that granting this immunity over their objections–known as a third-party release–was an unfair remedy.  They stated that such a plan would reduce creditors’ financial recoveries and make it more difficult to achieve their goals of learning about Purdue’s role in the opioid crisis and preventing future corporate malfeasance.  Instead, if the Sacklers were to receive immunity, critics suggested that the Sacklers should be required to file for bankruptcy.  A Sackler bankruptcy filing, they claimed, would increase creditor recoveries and ensure that creditors’ nonmonetary goals would be met.

This Article argues that these criticisms rely on a deeply problematic assumption: on closer inspection, it is not at all clear that a Sackler bankruptcy filing would result in better monetary or nonmonetary outcomes for creditors, and could actually detract from these goals.

From a monetary perspective, demands for a Sackler bankruptcy filing overlook the factual complexity that this would entail, and the corresponding weaknesses in remedies available to creditors under bankruptcy law.  The Sacklers engaged in sophisticated asset protection strategies that limited creditors’ financial recoveries by spreading ownership and control of Purdue, as well as their other holdings, across dozens of domestic and international spendthrift trusts to benefit scores of family members.  Demands for a Sackler bankruptcy filing ignore collections issues, the illiquidity of their holdings, the discounts that might be applied to recoveries of minority interests, and the limitations on creditors’ fraudulent transfer remedies.  To overcome these problems and maximize financial recoveries, the parties agreed to a “de facto substantive consolidation”: a consensual dissolution of the legal barriers separating the assets of individual members of the Sackler family, their trusts, and Purdue.  This ad hoc solution, while effective, depended on Sackler acquiescence.

Achieving creditors’ nonmonetary goals, such as broader disclosure, restrictions on the opioid businesses of Purdue and the Sacklers, and limitations on Sackler charitable donations, would probably have been made more difficult by a Sackler bankruptcy filing.  A bankruptcy filing likely would have pitted family members against one another, making disclosure or other consensual resolutions more difficult.  Courts also have limited ability to force debtors to divest assets or refrain from participating in business or charitable endeavors.  Instead, the Sacklers agreed to these undertakings because it was clear from the commencement of the case that the availability of a third-party release was contingent upon their cooperation.  Only by being able to offer what the Sacklers wanted–civil immunity–could creditors and the court cajole the Sacklers into agreement.

This Article demonstrates the institutional limits faced by the bankruptcy system in addressing certain kinds of monetary harms and nonmonetary objectives.  It ends by proposing reforms to fraudulent transfer law that would close the international spendthrift trust loophole that was so critical to the strategy pursued by the Sacklers to limit creditors’ monetary recoveries.  It also argues that the price of achieving creditors’ nonmonetary goals can be reduced in future mass tort bankruptcy cases by mandating expanded disclosure by parties seeking third-party releases, more consistent appointment of trustees to manage the debtor in mass tort bankruptcies, and appointment of examiners to uncover information about the causes of a mass tort.

The full article is available here.  Comments to the author are welcomed: worganek [at] law [dot] harvard [dot] edu.

The Changing Landscape of Consensual Third-Party Releases in Chapter 11 Plans: Does Silence = Consent?
by | posted in: Bankruptcy Administration and Jurisdiction, Third-Party Releases | 0

By Kathrine A. McLendon and Lily Picón (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP)

There has been increasing focus on what evidences implicit consent to a third-party release in a chapter 11 plan.  This article examines the statutory framework underlying consensual third-party releases and then discusses recent cases in which consensual releases have been challenged by the Office of the United States Trustee and by courts sua sponte. Although various forms of implicit consent were often approved in the past with little or no scrutiny, these cases highlight trends toward stronger indicia of consent and greater attention to the factual context of the particular case.  These developments also underscore the importance of making the appropriate evidentiary record to support approval of consensual third-party releases. We conclude with practice pointers to support the case for confirmation of chapter 11 plans containing consensual third-party releases.

The full article can be found here.

Recent Developments in Bankruptcy Law, February 2018
by | posted in: Avoidance, Bankruptcy Administration and Jurisdiction, Trademarks | 0

By Richard Levin (Jenner & Block LLP)

The bankruptcy courts and their appellate courts continue to explore issues of interest to practitioners and academics. This quarterly summary of recent developments in bankruptcy law covers cases reported during the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Eleventh Circuit was particularly noteworthy, holding that an individual debtor may recover attorneys’ fees for litigating a damages claim for a stay violation, including fees on appeal (Mantiply v. Horne) and, perhaps more ominously, that a chapter 13 confirmation order is not binding on a creditor who does not object to confirmation but has filed a stay relief motion and that state forfeiture laws may remove property from the estate while the case is pending (Title Max v. Northington). A rehearing motion has been filed in the latter case.

The First Circuit has diverged from the Seventh Circuit, holding that rejection of a trademark license deprives the licensee of future use of the license. (Tempnology)

The Delaware bankruptcy court reaffirmed what should have been clear that a trustee’s avoiding power and recovery claim is not limited to the amount of creditor claims, because section 550 speaks to benefit of the estate, not of creditors. (Physiotherapy Holdings)

Two bankruptcy courts have clarified the prerequisites for and the scope of third party releases and their jurisdiction to issue them, limiting releases by non-voting creditors and of non-indemnified insiders or professionals (New York: SunEdison) and prohibiting a “purchase” of a release solely by making a contribution to the estate. (Colorado: Midway Gold) 

The full memo, discussing these and other cases, is available here, and the full (900-page) compilation of all prior editions is available here.

Bankruptcy Court Rules That It Has Constitutional Authority to Grant Nonconsensual Releases in Chapter 11 Plan
by | posted in: Bankruptcy Administration and Jurisdiction | 0

By Charles M. Oellermann and Mark G. Douglas (Jones Day)

Many chapter 11 plans include nonconsensual third-party releases that preclude certain non-debtors from pursuing claims against other non-debtors as part of a restructuring deal in which such releases are a quid pro quo for financial contributions made by prepetition lenders or old equity holders. However, bankruptcy and appellate courts disagree as to whether such non-consensual plan releases should be permitted due, among other things, to concerns regarding the scope of a bankruptcy court’s subject matter jurisdiction and constitutional authority. Several court rulings handed down in 2017 addressed these concerns.

For example, In In re Midway Gold US, Inc., 575 B.R. 475 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2017), the court held that, although Tenth Circuit law does not categorically forbid third-party releases in chapter 11 plans, it lacked jurisdiction to “adjudicate” plan releases of claims against non-debtors because the underlying claims should not be considered as part of the proceedings to confirm the plan and were not within either its “core” or “related to” jurisdiction. In addition, in In re SunEdison, Inc., 2017 BL 401968 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Nov. 8, 2017), the court ruled that, as a matter of contract law, merely implied consent for plan releases is insufficient, and it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to approve releases that were overly broad.

By contrast, in In re Millennium Lab Holdings II, LLC,  2017 WL 4417562 (Bankr. D. Del. Oct. 3, 2017), the court held that it had the constitutional jurisdiction to authorize nonconsensual releases, despite the existence of litigation in another forum to adjudicate one of the claims to be released. A discussion of the court’s ruling in Millennium is available here.

Recent Developments in Bankruptcy Law October 2017
by | posted in: Bankruptcy Administration and Jurisdiction, Cramdown and Priority, Workouts and Pre-Packs | 0

By Richard Levin (Jenner & Block LLP)

The bankruptcy courts and their appellate courts continue to explore issues of interest to practitioners and academics. This quarterly summary of recent developments in bankruptcy law covers cases reported during the third quarter of 2017.

The Second Circuit adopted the use of a market rate to determine cram-down interest rates in a chapter 11 case. It also disallowed a secured lender’s make-whole, although without deciding whether a make-whole should be generally disallowed as unmatured post-petition interest. (In re MPM Silicones (Momentive)) In contrast, the Houston bankruptcy court allowed a make-whole in a solvent case, but also without reaching the post-petition interest issue. (In re Ultra Petroleum)

The Delaware bankruptcy court clarified its jurisdiction to approve a third-party release in a settlement implemented through a confirmed chapter 11 plan, holding that plan confirmation is a core proceeding, so Article III limits do not apply. (In re Millennium Lab Holdings II, LLC) The Delaware bankruptcy court also reconsidered, and disallowed, a merger agreement termination fee after termination of the agreement. (In re Energy Future Holdings, Inc.)

Bankruptcy courts increasingly approve of the idea that under section 544(b), the trustee may use the longer reachback periods of the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (In re CVAH, In re Alpha Protective Services). And the Ninth Circuit has ruled that for the trustee to pursue an avoidance claim against the United States, section 544(b) does not require a separate sovereign immunity waiver. (In re DBSI, Inc.) 

Finally, the courts have been sympathetic to attorneys in allowing their fees. (In re Stanton; In re Hungry Horse, LLC; In re CWS Enterps., Inc.) Less so for investment bankers. (Roth Capital Partners)

The full memo, discussing these and other cases, is available here, and the full (900-page) compilation of all prior editions is available here.