Benjamin Wallen

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The reality of a bankruptcy proceeding is that creditors often receive less than a full distribution on their claims, forcing them to absorb such losses or look for new avenues to make themselves whole.  The “bankruptcy haircut” is more often the case for general unsecured creditors and occurs less often for secured creditors (when they…

The Bankruptcy Code gives a bankruptcy trustee, or the debtor in possession, the power to “avoid” certain transfers made by the debtor at various times before filing for bankruptcy relief.  Congress provided a number of limits on these significant avoidance powers, whether within the sections granting the powers themselves (e.g., in Section 547(c), which sets…

In order to secure a real property owner’s payment obligation, contractors, mechanics, materialmen, and other workmen are often granted a lien referred to by a variety of names including, materialmen’s liens, workmen’s liens, and mechanic’s liens.  While the parlance varies by jurisdiction, they are generally referred to as mechanic’s liens in Texas—even in the context…

Undersecured creditors face unique challenges because they are neither fully secured nor fully unsecured.  Beyond the obviously undesirable issue of being upside-down on their deal, undersecured creditors often are exposed to preference liability for those payments they received in the 90 days prior to the debtor filing bankruptcy.  This is especially true where an aggressive…

Globalization has led to a marked increase in international components to insolvency proceedings.  Cross-border issues add a new layer of complexity to what is often a situation already fraught with obstacles.  Courts and practitioners alike face additional difficulties communicating with other courts, resolving issues consistently in jurisdictions with different laws and policy objectives, and enforcing…