Creative Destruction in Small Business Bankruptcy
Two distantly related items caught my eye this morning, as both reinforce the need for "creative destruction" as a response to all-too-common small business failure.
News & Comments
Nondebtor Releases and the Future of Mass Torts
Certain members of the bankruptcy academy and bar seem to have their knickers in a twist over the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari to review the nonconsensual nondebtor releases in Purdue. Conventional wisdom is that SCOTUS is going to find that there's no statutory authority whatsoever for nonconsensual nondebtor releases outside of the asbestos context (expressio unius and Congress doesn't hide elephants in mouseholes....).
Let's be clear: nonconsensual nondebtor releases are not necessary to resolve mass tort cases.
Unhappy Campers and Their Credit Cards
This story about the failure of a company that ships duffel bags to/from sleep-away camps has an interesting payment systems meets bankruptcy angle that got me particularly excited given that I'm teaching payment systems this fall:
Treasury in the Red... with Yellow
Freight company Yellow is on the verge of bankruptcy. It's not a company whose financial distress would normally stand out but for the fact that it received $700M in national security loans from the US Treasury in 2020, and, oh man, are taxpayers going to take it on the chin.
Axos Bank--More Sketchiness?
The Washington Post has a big piece up about Axos Bank being the lender-of-last-resort for Donald Trump. But those us who work in the consumer finance space, know of Axos as a notorious bank partner in rent-a-bank arrangements.
Consumer Law Scholars Conference--Call for Abstracts
The Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice at Berkeley Law has announced the call for abstracts for the 2024 Consumer Law Scholars Conference. Abstracts are due by September 8, 2023, for the conference scheduled for February 29-March 1, 2024. The conference welcomes abstracts from a wide array of methods and virtually any topic involving consumers in the marketplace.
The Puzzle of Diaspora Bonds: A Case Study of Israel's Program
Many countries have attempted to tap their diasporas by issuing bonds. This has particularly been the case in times of dire need (wars, pandemics, international sanctions, financial crises, and more). Ukraine is the most recent to have attempted to do this and failed. Other recent failures include Pakistan, India, Ethiopia and Greece, some of whom turned to bank deposit schemes when attempts to do full scale bond issuances did not succeed
SEC Coinbase Suit
The SEC has finally brought its long-anticipated lawsuit against Coinbase. The suit alleges that Coinbase has operated as an unregistered securities broker, an unregistered securities exchange, and an unregistered securities clearing agency, and that it has made unregistered sales of securities, namely of its staking-as-a-service products.
June 7 virtual event on Second Circuit's Purdue Pharma decision
The Commercial Law League of America is holding a virtual event next week, free of charge and open to all, on broader implications of the Second Circuit's Purdue Pharma decision. Register here. Date and time: June 7, 2023 at noon Eastern.
Third-Party Releases Clearly Endorsed in the 2nd Circuit, At Long Last
Yesterday's 2nd Circuit opinion reconfirming Purdue Pharma's settlement/restructuring plan is an enlightening read for those interested in third-party releases.
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