WE’RE BACK! THE CURRENT ISSUE OF THE AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY LAW JOURNAL IS READY FOR YOU!

Greetings everyone. Volume 97, Issue 4 of The American Bankruptcy Law Journal is ready for you. To read the entire digital issue now, click here.

Thanks for your interest and support. Happy reading.

Terry
Terrence L. Michael
Editor in Chief
American Bankruptcy Law Journal

IN THIS ISSUE

Is the current bankruptcy code equipped to address mass tort liability? You might think so, because in 1994 Congress adopted a specific statute to deal with asbestos claims which eventually led to a consensual framework for parties to deal with mass tort claims unrelated to asbestos. But times have changed. The types of mass torts and new legal arguments to deal with such liability have been seen in bankruptcy courts across the country. Professor Bussel’s article The Mass Tort Claimant’s Bargain makes a case that bankruptcy courts can successfully manage mass torts cases and that changing perceptions about how to accomplish that goal are necessary – which may involve learning to dance the Texas Two Step. To read the article, click here.

Dr. Oleksiy Kononov’s article provides a comparative analysis of restructuring laws for European Union countries with a focus on restructuring measures for small and medium-size enterprises. Dr. Kononov also examines how United States insolvency laws have influenced the development of European Union insolvency legislation. Based upon this analysis, Dr. Kononov examines how COVID and Russian aggression have had a catastrophic impact on Ukraine’s economy, particularly for small to medium enterprises. Dr. Kononov argues that Ukraine should enact more “pre-trial restructuring” legislation to avoid bankruptcy litigation and preserve viable businesses. He concludes that without further implementation of pre-trial restructuring legislation in Ukrainian law (using EU law as a guide) that Ukraine’s economy will continue to suffer and may not fully recover after the conflict with Russia. To read the article, click here.

Much has been written about Puerto Rico’s financial distress and its restructuring under PROMESA. The existing literature, however, overlooks an important component of Puerto Rico’s and arguably any governmental unit’s financial restructuring, namely the role and influence of the people most affected by the proceedings. This article fills that void and tells the story of the people of Puerto Rico. It helps to complete the narrative and offers policymakers much food for thought concerning such financial restructurings, whether under title 48 or title 11 of the U.S. Code. The article shows how Puerto Rico’s restructuring is a legal, political, and human story. To read the article, click here.

In 2022, Professor Lynn M. LoPucki won the Editors’ Prize for outstanding article for his in-depth review (and criticism) of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Belk Department Stores. In our prior issue, Professor Robert K. Rasmussen and Roye Zur responded to Professor LoPucki, defending the processes that led to confirmation of Belk’s Chapter 11 plan less than 24 hours after the case was filed. Here, Professor LoPucki responds that Rasmussen and Zur have not challenged any of his assertions that the Belk court violated statutes and rules but merely offer excuses for the violations. To read the article, click here.

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Professor Steven L. Schwarcz honored for ABLJ article

The 2024 recipient of the Grant Gilmore Award, which is given in recognition of superior writing in the field of commercial finance law, is awarded to Steven L. Schwarcz for his extraordinary article Bankruptcy-Remote Structuring: Reallocating Risk Through Law, published in the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, Volume 97, Issue 1 (2023)