We hope this report finds you and your family doing well. 2021 was another year of lockdowns and Zoom meetings, but also COVID-19 shots and slowly returning to the real world. Our committee leadership has strived to help its members navigate the ever-changing world of distressed sales via access to helpful content and the opportunity to engage in discussions on topics relevant to asset sales.
Committees
Weeeee’re back! After a four-year hiatus, ABI’s FAIB Committee was revitalized in 2021! We are very excited to see the large numbers joining our committee — we are currently up to 152 members — and Membership Relations Director Howard Cohen is ready to welcome even more.
There are many reasons why companies falter and create opportunities for financial advisors and investment bankers: incompetent or inefficient management; rapid expansion (and often loss of quality control); overleveraging of assets (often to support the lifestyle of the principals); failure to shed unprofitable locations, divisions or products; and more.
The Treasury Department’s computer-generated tax notices have increased over the last several years. At the same time, finding knowledgeable personnel at the IRS to discuss bankruptcy tax issues has become increasingly difficult. Knowing the source of potential issues goes a long way toward avoiding the pain they may cause.
The Asset Sales Committee is actively soliciting nominations for the Fourth Annual ABI Asset Sales Committee Sale of the Year Award. Details are set forth below. Please submit your best deal.
Nomination Deadline
Friday, March 18, 2022
There are situations where the bankruptcy court extends protections to nondebtor parties, either in the form of a release of claims or a stay of litigation, to facilitate the restructuring of a debtor.
ABI’s Legislation Committee had an active year in 2021. We tracked legislation and provided guidance for ABI members, published two newsletters, and hosted engaging panels at the Annual Spring Meeting and Winter Leadership Conference. We also have planned a webinar on the SBRA, and held a virtual happy hour at WLC for membership engagement.
As many practitioners already know, it can be enormously difficult for student loan borrowers to discharge their loans in bankruptcy. But through a combination of new case law, potential upcoming administrative action and a series of bankruptcy reform bills, it might be getting just a little bit easier for some student loan borrowers.
November 2021 brought with it a first-of-its-kind, incredibly successful event with ABI’s Consumer Practice Extravaganza Nov. 3-12 (CPEX21). Attendees learned about all aspects of consumer bankruptcy practice from intake to post-filing, and from basic chapter 7 cases to cryptocurrency. One common theme may have gone unnoticed, however: access to justice.
The Second Circuit’s August 2021 decision in In re Gravel[1] has already received considerable attention and generated much debate. Gravel involved the Vermont bankruptcy court’s initial entry of $375,000 in sanctions against a mortgage creditor based on the creditor’