Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring

June 15, 2026June 16, 2026 by Duane Morris

“Simply Put, Chapter 15 Is Not Chapter 11” – U.S. Bankruptcy Court Cracks Open Door for Canadian Cannabis Restructurings

By Timothy T. Brock, Paul P. Josephson and Drew S. McGehrin

Cannabis companies had long been shut out of the U.S. bankruptcy system because federal courts refused to administer assets derived from or connected to federally prohibited activity. That meant distressed cannabis operators were left only with state-law options including receiverships, out-of-court restructuring or liquidating assets piecemeal—until now. On May 9, 2026, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware did something no federal court had ever done before: acting under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code – the U.S. framework for recognizing and aiding foreign insolvency proceedings – it recognized a Canadian (CCAA) proceeding involving a cannabis enterprise notwithstanding the continuing illegality of marijuana under federal law.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 by Duane Morris

Improperly Documented Agreement Leads to Lender’s Loss in Equipment Financing Dispute

By Mairi V. Luce and Klara Bradbury

In Wingspire Equipment Finance LLC v. E-Crane International USA Inc., the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware closed a long-running equipment-financing dispute with a practical warning for lenders: Funding a borrower’s purchase of equipment does not, by itself, give the lender an interest in the equipment or a direct claim against the vendor. The decisions in the case are a reminder that an equipment lender needs a documented path to title, control or other enforceable collateral rights to ensure it has a path to recovery in the event of a bankruptcy scenario.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

April 24, 2026May 21, 2026 by Duane Morris

The Banking Law Journal Republishes Duane Morris Alert on In Re Brandt

An alert written by partner Chris Winter in Wilmington and special counsel Drew McGehrin in Philadelphia was republished in The Banking Law Journal. The alert— “Bankruptcy Court Finds Oversecured Creditor Not Entitled to Recovery of Post-Petition Attorneys’ Fees”— analyzed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee’s ruling in In re Brandt, which held that an oversecured creditor did not have an allowed claim for post-judgment expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred after the bankruptcy petition was filed.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

April 22, 2026April 22, 2026 by Duane Morris

Stay Tuned – Bankruptcy Court Grants Stay of Case Dismissal but Requires $3.3 Million Bond

By Robert E. Grossman and Brad Lenox

In In re Endi Plaza LLC, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York granted a stay pending an appeal of its prior order dismissing a bankruptcy case for bad faith but required the debtor to post a bond of more than $3 million during the pendency of the stay period. This decision is instructive for secured creditors that have been frustrated in their efforts to exercise state law rights by the filing of a bankruptcy case.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

March 16, 2026March 16, 2026 by Duane Morris

When Can a One-Letter Mistake Written Before a Bankruptcy Cost $500,000 After?

By Catherine Beideman Heitzenrater and Marie Bauer

In East Texas Machining & Manufacturing, LLC v. STV Engine 011, LLC, et al., the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas considered a motion for partial summary judgment filed by plaintiff-debtor East Texas Machining & Manufacturing LLC against STV Engine 001 LLC, Axle Box Innovations LLC and Texas Tactical Machining & Manufacturing LLC in an adversary proceeding within ETMM’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The court granted ETMM’s motion based on a one-letter mistake in STV’s UCC-1 financing statement and found that STV’s $500,000 security interest was unperfected and therefore invalid and avoidable.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

March 13, 2026March 13, 2026 by Duane Morris

Duane Morris Partners Named to 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers Guide

Five Duane Morris LLP attorneys have been named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers guide.

Morris S. Bauer – Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights

James Billingsley – Bankruptcy, Restructuring, Litigation

Robert Grossman – Corporate, Reorganization, Litigation

Meagen Leary – Creditors’ Rights, Real Estate Finance, Bankruptcy

Wendy M. Simkulak – Bankruptcy, Reorganization, Creditors’ Rights

February 11, 2026February 11, 2026 by Duane Morris

Bankruptcy Court Provides Guidance on Adequate Assurance of Future Performance in Sale of Distressed Real Estate

By Marcus O. Colabianchi and Hunter C. Blume

Recently, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed the Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for Broadway Realty I Co. LLC and affiliated debtors and approved the sale of a large portfolio of rent-stabilized residential properties to Summit Gold Inc., overruling objections by the City of New York. The decision provides guidance on the limits of housing-based objections and clarifies how bankruptcy courts may apply the “adequate assurance of future performance” standard to large, distressed residential portfolios.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

January 22, 2026January 22, 2026 by Duane Morris

You’ve Got to Have Faith When Purchasing Bankruptcy Sale Assets, as Appellate Panel Widens Section 363(m) Protection

By Jessica Kenney Bonteque and Nathan Yeary

Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code protects purchasers of assets in a bankruptcy sale. The rule protects a bankruptcy sale as long as the effectiveness of the order from the bankruptcy court approving the sale is not stayed pending resolution of an objection and the purchaser acts in “good faith.” A recent decision by the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit extends the protection afforded under Section 363(m) by permitting a purchaser’s “good faith” to be implied from the absence of evidence that the purchaser acted in “bad faith.” However, the dissent concluded that the absence of evidence that a purchaser lacks good faith is insufficient to support an inference of good faith.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

July 17, 2025July 17, 2025 by Duane Morris

Structurally Unsound: District Court Reverses Bankruptcy Court on Good-Faith Transferee’s Defense Based on Value Provided to Chapter 7 Debtor’s Affiliate

By Catherine Beideman Heitzenrater and Nathan Yeary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York recently addressed a transferee’s attempt to use corporate veil-piercing to defend against an avoidance action by a Chapter 7 trustee. The transferee-defendant argued that its potential liability for a challenged payment from the debtor could be offset by the value that it had provided to the debtor’s nondebtor affiliate. The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the trustee’s action and agreed with the transferee-defendant that a nondebtor special purpose vehicle formed to acquire and hold real estate for the debtor was the debtor’s alter ego. The District Court reversed on appeal and concluded that the transferee did not have a reasonable equivalent value defense based on consideration provided to the special purpose vehicle, nondebtor affiliate of the debtor in exchange for a downpayment from the debtor.

Read the full story on the Duane Morris LLP website.

June 9, 2025June 9, 2025 by Duane Morris

Freeze! Lapsed Financing Statement May Not Be Fatal in Bankruptcy

By James Billingsley and Drew S. McGehrin

A lapsed financing statement may not extinguish a creditor’s secured position in a bankruptcy case, according to the recent decision Utah Bankruptcy Court styled Thomson v. Short (In re Short). Secured lenders are nevertheless well advised to monitor and timely file continuation statements under any circumstances, especially in the case of a borrower bankruptcy.

Read the full story on the Duane Morris LLP website.