2021, 2021 Northeast Bankruptcy Conference & Consumer Forum

Three cases in the last year have demonstrated that § 363 does not fix everything. In Dean Foods, § 363 did not protect the purchaser from the Sherman Antitrust Act; the purchaser was forced to divest itself of purchased assets in a U.S. DOJ antitrust action. In GNC, CFIUS interposed (unsuccessfully) to try to prevent the sale of assets to a Chinese company owned by the PRC government. Finally, in Exide, CERCLA rendered four contaminated properties unsalable, resulting in abandonment (arguably in contravention of the SCOTUS Midlantic decision, appeal pending).

This plenary will present two exciting debates on timely circuit split topics. Judges will be paired with emerging regional leaders to face off over key bankruptcy issues.
Resolved: The automatic stay terminates automatically after a repeat filing only to property of the debtor, and not to estate property.
Resolved: A “makewhole” provision may be enforced against a debtor and is not disallowed as “unmatured interest” pursuant to Bankruptcy Code § 502(b)(2).

Recent legislation and judicial decisions have changed consumer bankruptcy practice substantially over the last year. This panel will provide perspectives and analysis from the judiciary and debtors’ and creditors’ attorneys regarding the various legislative changes that have been enacted or proposed since early 2020, and will explore the ever-changing landscape of bankruptcy practice today. The panelists will also discuss the impact of recent Supreme Court and First Circuit decisions on consumer cases.