On November 17, 2016, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held in Delaware Trust Co. v. Energy Future Intermediate Holding Co. LLC (In re Energy Future Holdings Corp.) (EFH), 842 F.3d 247 (3d Cir. 2016), that the debtors, Energy Future Intermediate Holding Company LLC and EFIH Finance Inc. (collectively, EFIH), were obligated to pay make-whole premiums despite the acceleration of the underlying... Continue Reading

Once again, it appears there’s a strong possibility that the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer (GTS) tax may be repealed. President Donald J. Trump and the Republican majority in the House and Senate all support a repeal of the “death tax.” One must only revisit the last time Republicans held control of the House, Senate and the White House in 2001 to identify the last time... Continue Reading

On February 1, 2017, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Delaware Bankruptcy Court”) released the 2017 version of the Local Rules for the United States Bankruptcy Court District of Delaware (Effective February 1, 2017) (the “Local Rules”). As a courtesy to our clients and friends, the Morris Nichols Business Reorganization & Restructuring Group has... Continue Reading

On February 3, 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware announced that with the celebration of her birthday today, Judge Sue L. Robinson has officially become a Senior United States District Court Judge.  With Judge Robinson’s senior status, the Court has modified certain case assignment practices... Continue Reading

David A. Harris, Louis G. Hering, “2017 Summary of Delaware Case Law Relating to Alternative Entities,” 2017 Annual Meeting of ABA, Section of Business Law (Feb. 2, 2017).. Continue Reading

On February 2nd, 2017, Governor John Carney signed into law Senate Bill 13 (“S.B. 13”) which rapidly passed through both the Delaware Senate on January 19th, and the Delaware General Assembly on January 26th. S.B. 13, which is a major overhaul of Delaware’s unclaimed property statute, remains largely unchanged from the version that was introduced in the Senate, retaining the dual aims of... Continue Reading

Senate Bill 13, cosponsored by Senator Bryan Townsend and Representative Bryon Short, on January 12, 2017, is a major overhaul of Chapter 11, Title 12 of the Delaware Code, Delaware’s unclaimed property statute, and is aimed at both updating Delaware law in light of the 2016 Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (“RUUPA”) developed by the Uniform Law Commission and at addressing certain... Continue Reading

The New York Times recently took issue with Rex Tillerson, the President-elect’s nominee for Secretary of State, and the current CEO of ExxonMobil. Why? “Tillerson Put Company’s Needs Over U.S. Interests,” accused the front page headline. The article details how the company puts shareholders’ interests before the interests of the United States and of impoverished citizens of countries... Continue Reading