The Restructuring Report

For circuits that have Bankruptcy Appellate Panels, appealing parties must make a critical choice on appeal: do they elect to have their appeal heard by the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel or the District Court?

Shortly after the Southern District of New York ruled on third-party releases in the Purdue Pharma case, the District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia similarly overturned a plan containing third-party releases in the Ascena Retail Group bankruptcy case. How does this decision relate to the Purdue Pharma decision and what does it mean for the future of third-party releases?

Can a debtor include releases of non-debtor third parties in its chapter 11 plan? This divisive issue has been litigated before a number of different courts throughout the country. The Southern District of New York recently weighed in and reversed the confirmation of a plan containing third party releases. How does this recent decision impact the continued debate over third-party releases?