News & Insights

MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC – The Supreme Court’s Second Rejection of a Jurisdictional Statutory Interpretation this Year.

KTBS and its attorneys have once again been highly ranked by Chambers USA, which annually researches and ranks the leading firms and lawyers in an extensive range of practice areas throughout the United States.

This case alert by KTBS partner Jonathan Weiss addresses an important recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the Windstream Holdings bankruptcy cases in which the Second Circuit dismissed a creditor’s appeal of an order approving critical vendor payments on the basis that the appeal was equitably moot.  The Second Circuit refused to consider the merits of the appeal, finding instead that because the Windstream debtors had, during the pendency of the appeal, confirmed and substantially consummated their plan of reorganization, the appeal of the critical vendor order was equitably moot. The opinion is notable as it emphasizes the Second Circuit’s preference to invoke the doctrine, even on appeals of matters other than plan confirmation.

In a decision authored by Justice Alito, the Supreme Court holds in City of Chicago v. Fulton that a non-debtor’s mere retention of property of the estate after the filing of a bankruptcy petition does not constitute an act to exercise control over property of the estate in violation of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay.

This legislative alert by Jonathan Weiss summarizes certain important amendments to the Bankruptcy Code that may affect corporate debtors that are included within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 signed into law on December 27, 2020.