Sky Blog
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing financial distress to economically viable firms on an unprecedented scale. In this post, we introduce the novel idea of creditor cooperation duties to stabilize corporate workouts.
The prospect of widespread defaults by viable firms triggered …
The CARES Act passed in response to the COVID-19 crisis provides billions of dollars in industry-specific loans that will go to large corporations like Boeing and the major airlines. These provisions are part of a larger compromise that also puts …
Current policy discussions tend to minimize the role of bankruptcy law in mitigating the financial fallout from COVID-19. Scholars too are unsure about the merits of bankruptcy, especially Chapter 11, in resolving business distress. In this paper, we argue that …
One of the principal lessons learned from the 2007-2009 financial crisis was the need for new legal regimes to facilitate the rapid and orderly resolution of systemically important financial institutions without a government bailout. In the final part of a …
Personal bankruptcy is pervasive in the U.S.—about one in 10 Americans will declare bankruptcy in his lifetime.1 Under the U.S. bankruptcy code, households are protected by limited liability. That is, they can discharge their debt and still keep a substantial …
By many accounts, we have entered an era of unprecedented contentiousness in debtor-creditor relations. For an example of the new status quo, consider the recent actions of PetSmart, a perfectly normal American corporation struggling with debt from a leveraged buy-out …
In the last few years, an increasing number of digital platforms have launched initial coin offerings (ICOs). ICOs are primarily studied from the perspective of securities laws. In a new paper, however, I examine how bankruptcy law applies to entities …
In bankruptcy, as in corporate law, valuation drives disputes. Prior bankruptcy scholarship points to disagreements about valuation and judicial valuation error as key drivers of Chapter 11 outcomes, including the decision whether to reorganize the distressed firm or sell it …
As Toys ‘R’ Us heads for liquidation, a common refrain has it that the toy retailer failed to successfully reorganize in Chapter 11 because it took on too much debt. The 2005 leveraged buyout (LBO) of Toys ‘R’ Us by …
In my article Chapter 11, Corporate Governance and the Role of Examiners, I propose a possible solution to corporate governance problems caused by the debtor-in-possession model of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
For 200 years, the equality of creditors norm—the idea that similarly situated creditors should be treated similarly—has been widely viewed as the most important principle in American bankruptcy law, rivaled only by our commitment to a fresh start for honest …
Law and economics scholars have long argued that efficiency is best served when a firm’s capital structure is arranged as a single, hierarchical value waterfall. In such a regime, claimants with seniority are made whole before the next-junior stakeholders receive …
Bankruptcy law has evolved over the centuries as an orderly way to deal with dying firms. However, during the recent recession, many policy experts, officials, and legislators advocated sidestepping the bankruptcy process and resorting to so-called bailouts.
Bailouts have been …
Much has been written about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s interpretive philosophy and his overall impact on the law. But surprisingly little attention has been paid to his contributions to modern bankruptcy law.
In an article about Justice Scalia’s …
Side agreements between creditors of a corporate debtor can dictate how those creditors act when the debtor files for bankruptcy. For example, intercreditor agreements commonly include a promise by one party to remain silent – to waive some procedural right …
A central topic in financial economics is how the allocation of cash flow and control rights among providers of corporate finance should evolve with firm performance. Theoretically, allowing for a transfer of control to creditors when a firm is in …
One of the most elegant legal innovations to emerge from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 is the FDIC’s Single Point of Entry (SPOE) initiative, whereby regulatory authorities will be in a position to resolve …
Last year was an active but uneven one in the world of corporate bankruptcy and restructuring. On the one hand, default rates in the U.S. remained at relatively muted levels, with the continuation of low interest rates and strong (if …
The latest chapter in the saga of resolution planning under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) unfolded in December 2016 when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) and the Board of Governors of …
Much of the debate in bankruptcy scholarship today centers on the extent to which the law protects stakeholder options. In a new paper, “Beyond Options,” we argue that this focus is misplaced. Protecting options is neither necessary nor sufficient for …