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
In In re Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC, 125 F.4th 555 (5th Cir. 2024), as amended, No. 23-20281 (5th Cir. Jan. 21, 2025), revised and superseded, No. 23-20181 (5th Cir. Feb. 14, 2025), reh'g denied, No. 23-20181 (5th Cir. Feb....more
On December 31, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas’ (the “Bankruptcy Court”) decision that the exchange by certain lenders of Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC...more
In a landmark ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a June 2020 refinancing transaction (the Uptier Transaction) entered by Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC (SSB, or the Debtor) and certain of its lenders...more
On December 31, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision regarding the permissibility of the Serta Simmons Bedding (Serta) uptier liability management exercise (the 2020 Uptier)...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
Market participants might be wary of opinions that begin with a recitation of academic literature and then turn to dictionaries. The former tend to be authored with an eye toward systemic change rather than direct experience...more
On December 31, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the Court or the Fifth Circuit) held that the controversial $200 million Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) uptier financing...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) ruled on December 31, 2024 that Serta Simmons Bedding’s (“SSB”) 2020 uptier exchange included a transaction that, contrary to the assertions of...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
In the August 2017 issue of Debt Dialogue, we discussed the recent decision by Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York with respect to claims brought by the litigation trust (the...more
On May 11, 2016, the Delaware bankruptcy court issued an opinion in the RadioShack bankruptcy case addressing an intercreditor dispute between Salus Capital Partners, LLC, the “last out” lender in RadioShack’s prepetition...more
As predicted a year ago, the adoption of US-style covenant-lite terms in European leveraged deals continues apace. This is hardly surprising given that the existence of ultra-low interest rates are sparking intense...more