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Bankruptcy Court Contract Terms Lenders

Goulston & Storrs PC

Rethinking Liability Management in Club Deals and Direct Lending: Lessons from the Fifth Circuit’s Serta Ruling and Beyond

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On December 31, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Court”) struck down the controversial 2020 “uptier transaction” executed by Serta Simmons Bedding (“Serta”). The Serta case and several other state court and...more

Mayer Brown

Serta and Mitel: The Latest Major Court Decisions on Uptier Transactions

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Summary: On December 31, 2024, two major appellate court decisions addressed the legality of uptier financing transactions—one involving Serta Simmons Bedding (“Serta”) and the other Mitel Networks Corporation (“Mitel”). Both...more

WilmerHale

Serta’s (Un)Surprising Take on Equitable Mootness

WilmerHale on

In its New Year’s Eve decision in Serta Simmons Bedding, the Fifth Circuit underscored the importance of drafting debt documents with clarity and precision and cautioned against borrowers’ reliance on ambiguous language to...more

Clark Hill PLC

How Bankruptcy Courts Interpret Intercreditor Agreements: The Uncertainty of Judicial Perspective

Clark Hill PLC on

Intercreditor Agreements typically are contractual arrangements among lenders of similar or differing priorities to a single borrower secured by the assets of the borrower, often including real estate assets. These multiple...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

The Impact of In re 301 W N. Ave., LLC on the Enforcement of Bankruptcy-Remote Protections

Executive Summary - The recent decision In re 301 W N. Ave., LLC, 666 B.R. 583 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2025) represents a significant development at the intersection of corporate governance, commercial real estate, and...more

Jones Day

Uptiers in 2025: Impact of the Serta and Mitel Decisions on Liability Management Exercises

Jones Day on

Late last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York issued important rulings regarding the validity of uptier “liability management...more

Holland & Knight LLP

American Tire: Rubber Hits the Road in Non-Ratable Chapter 11 Liability Management Transaction

Holland & Knight LLP on

Minority senior secured lenders in syndicated deals rely on, among other provisions, the "sacred right" protections contained in the credit documents to protect the benefit of their bargained-for agreement: primarily, that...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Enforceability of Golden Directors with Bankruptcy Consent Right

Proskauer Rose LLP on

The appointment of an independent director is a powerful tool for private credit lenders. The appointment is designed to introduce a voice of neutrality and fairness into the board’s decision-making process with the hope and...more

A&O Shearman

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so*

A&O Shearman on

The court reassures lenders on the effect of a termination notice, the meaning of a continuing Event of Default and the effectiveness of reservation of rights letters: Re Pocket Renting. Appointment of administrator...more

Kilpatrick

When Provisions in a Loan and LLC Agreements Do Not Impermissibly Restrict a Bankruptcy Filing

Kilpatrick on

In In re 301 W North Avenue, LLC, 2025 WL 37897 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2025), a bankruptcy court recently addressed provisions in a loan agreement and limited liability company (“LLC”) operating agreement as to their effect on...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Latest Uptier Decisions in Serta and Mitel Remind Contract Language Matters

The caselaw on “uptiers” as liability management exercises (LMEs) grew by two opinions on the last day of 2024. In Serta, the Fifth Circuit reversed the bankruptcy court’s blessing of the pre-bankruptcy uptier and...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Texas Bankruptcy Court Approves Serta Simmons “Uptier” Transaction

Latham & Watkins LLP on

The ruling, which held that the transaction did not violate the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, highlights the importance of carefully drafting lending documents. On June 6, 2023, Judge David Jones of the...more

Goodwin

TPC Bankruptcy and District Court Opinions Uphold Uptiering Transaction and Teach an Important Lesson on the Need for Express...

Goodwin on

A recent U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware opinion, In re TPC Grp. Inc., provided another instance of an uptiering transaction withstanding legal scrutiny and provides further support for the view that courts...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

Trustee Survives Judgment in Fraudulent-Conveyance Action Based on Novation Argument

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The Sixth Circuit recently ruled that a trustee’s claim that a novation occurred upon the execution of amended and restated loan documents could not be dismissed under a Rule 12 (b)(6) motion. The Sixth Circuit remanded the...more

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