"Case Law on 'Ad Hoc' Creditor Groups is Becoming Unsettled," The National Law Journal

D. Tyler Nurnberg, Partner in the Business Reorganization and Creditors’ Rights practice group, and Matthew J. Micheli, Associate in the Business Reorganization and Creditors’ Rights practice group, co-authored the article “Case Law on ‘Ad Hoc’ Creditor Groups is Becoming Unsettled,” that was published in The National Law Journal on February 15, 2010.  The article analyses a number of recent conflicting decisions by bankruptcy courts that has stoked the fight over how much debt or equity holders who band together as an unofficial or "ad hoc" group in a Chapter 11 case must disclose about their investments in order to act as a group — including what each group member holds, when it invested and what price it paid.  The article discusses possible resolutions to the conflict such as a proposed amendment to expand the rule’s scope that recently was debated during a public hearing before the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, or rulings by the appellate courts as four of the most recent decisions are in the early stages of appeals.  Until there is a satisfactory resolution, the article advises that investors should be conscious of the risks of serving as part of an ad hoc group.