Borrowers and lenders must both be aware of the risks relating to uncertainty regarding make-whole premiums in bankruptcy. The enforceability of “make-whole” premiums in bankruptcy has become a hotly contested issue in...more
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
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
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
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has unanimously held that the debt exchange undertaken by Serta Simmons Bedding did not qualify as an "open market purchase" under the terms of Serta's...more
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
On June 14, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion affirming bankruptcy and district court decisions finding that, under the terms of the confirmed Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, the debtor’s...more