Avoidance Actions: Circuit Splits on Key Issues

BarbriSFCourseDetails

Course Details

Course Information

smart_display Format
On-Demand
signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
work Practice Area
Bankruptcy

Date & Time

event Date
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
timer Program Length
90 minutes

Credit Information

This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00

CLE

ALL

This CLE webinar will guide counsel through the evolving positions of courts on four key issues that arise in avoidance actions. The panel will discuss competing views about whether and when avoidance actions must benefit the estate, whether fraudulent transfer recoveries should be limited to the number of creditor claims, the lookback period under Section 544(b)(1) (and the definition of "allowable"), and the extraterritorial reach of the bankruptcy court to reach property in the hands of a non-U.S. affiliate or subsidiary of the debtor.

Faculty

Jonathan Hawkins

Partner

Thompson Hine

Mr. Hawkins is a partner in the firm's Business Restructuring, Creditors' Rights & Bankruptcy practice group. He focuses his practice on parties’ rights and remedies under the Uniform Commercial Code, Bankruptcy Code and state law in and out of court. Mr. Hawkins also assists buyers, sellers, and lenders in transactions, frequently involving distressed situations and in offensive and defensive litigation involving fraudulent transfer statutes under state law and the Bankruptcy Code. He is admitted to practice law in the state of Ohio, the state of New York and the Federal District and Bankruptcy Courts in the Northern and Southern District of Ohio.

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Sean A. Gordon

Partner

Thompson Hine

Mr. Gordon focuses his practice on bankruptcy reorganization and litigation, creditors’ rights, loan restructuring and workouts, foreclosure, and commercial and real estate litigation. He represents lenders, corporations, creditors’ committees, trustees, individual creditors, lessors, lessees, debtors and landlords, both inside and outside of bankruptcy. Mr. Gordon has broad experience in federal, state and bankruptcy courts throughout the United States.

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Austin Alexander

Senior Managing Associate

Thompson Hine

Mr. Alexander, a managing associate in the firm’s Business Restructuring, Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy practice, focuses on bankruptcy matters, including representing creditors in insolvency proceedings. His experience includes representing community banks, real estate developers and utility companies in bankruptcy and other collection-related matters.

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Description

Creditor recoveries often hinge on the success of clawback lawsuits under Sections 544, 547, 548, and 549 of the Bankruptcy Code that trustees or debtors-in-possession bring under bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy law.

The law is changing, and court rulings have split on four essential and recurring issues in avoidance actions regarding unwritten defenses, the amount of recovery, the lookback period, and from whom recovery may be obtained.

The bankruptcy court's analysis of these issues affects burden of proof and the scope of review on appeal. Outside bankruptcy, how courts view these issues can affect how parties structure transactions and representations required of buyers and sellers, borrowers, and lenders.

Listen as this experienced panel guides counsel through the evolving law on these recurring and essential issues.

Outline

The unwritten benefit to the estate requirement and Bankruptcy Code Sections 544 and 550
Measure of recovery in fraudulent transfer actions
The expanding lookback period under Section 544(b)(1) (and the definition of "allowable")
The extraterritorial reach of the bankruptcy court