The Retail Apocalypse Continues
Retailers are reporting that at least 4,300 stores will close in 2020 and that this number will increase. Prior to the pandemic, Cushman & Wakefield estimated that as many [...]
Mall of America Fails to Pay Mortage – Sign of Things to Come for Other Malls and Shopping Centers?
People talk about retail tenants being in financial disarray and filing bankruptcy, but what about our malls and shopping centers? They are hurting, too. If their tenants are not [...]
Bankruptcy Courts Allow Business Debtors to Defer Rent in Response to COVID-19
In re Pier I Imports Inc., 20-30805 (Bankr. E.D. Va. May 10, 2020) At least one bankruptcy court has crafted a remedy not otherwise addressed prior to the Coronavirus outbreak. [...]
COVID-19 and the Plight of the American Movie Theater
Americans have been going to the movies for more than a century, but for the first time in recent history, theaters are closed, and even if they open in [...]
The Case Study of Neiman Marcus and the Fate of Other Department Stores
While the notorious fashion icon, Neiman Marcus, may be the first among retailers to succumb to the economic impact of COVID-19, the virus was only the final straw in [...]
Filing a Proof of Claim Reserving a Right to a Jury Trial Does Not Prevent a Waiver of Right to Jury Trial
Pursuant to the Supreme Court opinions in Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg, 492 U.S. 33 (1989) and Langenkamp v. Culp, 498 U.S. 42 (1990), the filing of a proof of claim [...]
THE TREATMENT AND ENFORCEMENT OF ARBITRATION CLAUSES IN BANKRUPTCY CASES
Bankruptcy courts throughout the country are being presented with the question of whether to enforce arbitration agreements. In the past, bankruptcy courts have found that arbitration agreements are not enforceable [...]
Subsequent Transferee Liability re: Fraudulent Conveyance Lawsuits
The Bankruptcy Code and the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act allow a bankruptcy Trustee to recover property that was allegedly fraudulently transferred to an “initial transferee” who then transferred the same [...]
A Debtor Licensor of a Trademark Cannot Rescind Use of the Trademark License by Rejecting it in Bankruptcy
Licensees of Trademarks can breathe a sigh of relief: A Debtor cannot use the Bankruptcy Code as a sword by rejecting a trademark license thereby preventing the licensee from using [...]
State and Federal IRA Exemptions Don’t Always Jive
Though Eleventh Circuit (Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) appellate decisions do not control decisions in the Fifth Circuit (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas), they can be persuasive. The Eleventh Circuit Court of [...]
