We regularly encounter the issue of whether a bankruptcy court will treat a document entitled “Lease” (of either personalty or real estate) as a true lease or a disguised financing. The Seventh Circuit ruled on July 26, 2005 in the United Airlines case that a transaction where an airline obtained money to build/improve an [...]

In bankruptcy litigation, “contemporaneous exchange for new value” is an enumerated defense to an action to avoid preferential transfers. New value is defined in Section 547(a)(2) as “money or money’s worth in goods, services, or new credit, or release by a transferee of property previously transferred to such transferee…including proceeds of such property.” [...]

JMM P.C.’s Mac McMahan was quoted in the August 2005 edition of Bloomberg Markets Magazine in an article relating to a consumer’s perspective on SBC’s purchase of AT&T and the expansion of its subscriber services. The current issue can be found at http://www.bloomberg.com/media/markets/current_issue.html

The specific article can be found at http://www.bloomberg.com/media/markets/sbc.pdf

Mike

Over the years I have had many occasions to talk to folks about “how it works in bankruptcy court” which sometimes is not exactly logical. Most often these discussions are with other lawyers. We bankruptcy types can drive corporate types crazy (”you can’t do that, the papers say is it a [fill in [...]

Two books about Enron:

The Smartest Guys in the Room
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1591840082/qid=1114196690/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/002-4269749-8508815?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Enron: Corporate Fiascos and Their Implications
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587785781/qid=1114196968/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/002-4269749-8508815?v=glance&s=books

One of Mike’s favorites:

A Man in Full, by Tom Wolfe
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374270325/qid=1114196899/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/002-4269749-8508815?v=glance&s=books&n=507846