Recent Articles

Financial Bailouts - A Letter To Congressman Brian Bilbray

Richard Feferman
November 18, 2008 15:56

Dear Sir: The goal of federally financed bailouts should only be to augment feasible plans of reorganization, not to prolong the life of businesses beyond hope. Bailout recipients should be required to devise and execute a feasible "Plan of Reorganization" as in Chapter 11 of the...

Alternative Sources of Recovery: Lehman Brothers' Directors & Officers

Richard Feferman
October 06, 2008 02:44

 A couple of articles in the Wall Street Journal here and here are the basis for my bet that we are going see claims against Lehman's directors and officers insurance coverage. Perhaps even a fight over who is entitled to make claims against any policies. See Kimberly Melvin's article for...

US Home Prices Declining at Accelerated Rate

Richard Feferman
May 29, 2008 02:49

We all know the housing bubble was inflated by easy credit and that market has become totally unhinged. The Credit Market's issues are far from being sorted out. Certainly this is not going to be resolved in the short term. I think it is a fairy tail to believe the same abundant levels of consumer...

US Home Price Declines Accelerate

Richard Feferman
May 29, 2008 02:49

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are the gold standard for measuring aggregate home price fluctuations. The below chart illustraiting monthly changes in year-to-year comparisons shows that nationwide home prices are falling at a progressively faster rate each month through March 2008.

Debt buyers ignore discharge and get sued. What a surprise.

Richard Feferman
May 25, 2008 21:01

Loren Steffy of the Houston Chronicle wrote an article about couple that have filed suit against some  debt buyers that apparently ignored a Judge's discharge order. Although this blog is for Creditors the whole notion implied in Steffy's well written article that debt buyers will be so...

Commercial Landlords: What To Do When a Tenant Files Bankruptcy (Chapter 11)

Richard Feferman
May 24, 2008 03:17

Here are two important issues:I.    Ensure Your Rights To PaymentII.   Resolution of Tenant ContinuityI.    Ensure Your Rights To Payment. First things first, consult counsel and determine if there is any reason you do not want to file a Proof of Claim. ...

Bankruptcy Preferences - An Introduction

Richard Feferman
May 14, 2008 05:04

Today I spoke to a credit manager with an interesting problem. He called to discuss a letter he received demanding the payment of almost $400,000 from a customer that is in bankruptcy. To add injury to insult, the customer still owes over $75,000 on its account. What a paradox! What my credit...

Credit Markets Frozen As Mortgage Market Melts Down - Commercial Bankruptcy Filings Rise

Richard Feferman
March 22, 2008 09:37

    What started as a residential real estate crisis is causing a shortage of funds throughout the Capital Markets. The Federal Reserve is doing an effective job regulating risk free rates, but businesses don’t borrow at these rates. Today the Federal Funds Rate is 2.20%....

How Is Bankruptcy Under Chapter 11 Different From A Case Filed Under Chapter 7 Or Chapter 13?

Richard Feferman
March 11, 2008 08:58

    Chapter 11 is the known at the Reorganization Chapter; Chapter 7 is called the Liquidation     Chapter; and Chapter 13’s title is Adjustment of Debts Of An Individual With Regular Income.     As I wrote earlier the goal of a Chapter 11...

UPI Reports: 6,000 U.S. Retail Stores Predicted To Close In 2008

Richard Feferman
March 10, 2008 07:42

This may be the understatement of a lifetime. The bankruptcy filings of Movie Gallery (aka Hollywood Video); Lillian Vernon; and The Sharper Image have started us off on what may be a robust year of retail failures. With consumers tapped out, what will fall next? Or can the slack be picked up by...