Bankruptcy Litigation Roadmap: Obtaining Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases Through Sale and Settlement
A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A
This CLE webinar will discuss whether Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 603 U.S. 204, 144 (2024), applies only to plans of reorganization or also limits nonconsensual third-party releases from being approved in other types of settlement or sale agreements routinely approved by bankruptcy courts, and why or why not. The program will review In re Hopeman Brothers Inc. No. 24-32428 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Jan. 24, 2025), and In re Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Center, N.Y., No. 20-12345 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Dec. 4, 2024), ECF No. 3465, in which the bankruptcy courts approved nonconsensual third-party releases as part of insurer settlements with the debtors. The panel will explore arguments that the subject nonconsensual third-party releases contravened Purdue, each court's reasoning in favor of approving nonconsensual third-party releases, the key facts and competing interests that controlled or that might have changed the outcome, and how insurers and debtors might leverage the holdings and rationales in other contexts to either reanimate nonconsensual third-party releases or to show that Purdue is to be applied beyond confirmation.
Outline
- Introduction
- Currently prevailing rationales for limiting releases beyond confirmation
- Currently prevailing rationales for limiting Purdue
- Critical facts and procedural posture of recent cases
- Best practices for securing or limiting releases
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Do decisions allowing nonconsensual third-party releases in sale orders make a distinction with a difference?
- How broad is too broad for nonconsensual third-party releases in sale orders?
- Will courts scrutinize releases in sale orders in light of proposed plans?
- What happens if a creditor opts out of the plan release?
Faculty
Jesse J. Bair
Founding Partner
Burns Bair
Mr. Bair is a founding partner at Burns Bair LLP. He devotes the majority of his practice to working with sexual-abuse... | Read More
Mr. Bair is a founding partner at Burns Bair LLP. He devotes the majority of his practice to working with sexual-abuse survivors and other tort claimants and their attorneys on the most significant insurance issues of the day, having been retained as special insurance counsel by creditors’ committees in twelve of the largest religious-affiliated bankruptcies in the country: the Diocese of Rochester, New York; the Diocese of Syracuse, New York; the Diocese of Albany, New York; the Diocese of Buffalo, New York; the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York; the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York; the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland; the Franciscan Friars of California, Inc.; the Bishop of Oakland, California; the Bishop of Santa Rosa, California; the Bishop of Sacramento, California; and the Archbishop of San Francisco, California. Mr. Bair also represents the post-confirmation settlement trust pursuing insurance recoveries from non-settling insurers in connection with the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota bankruptcy.
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Adam R. Prescott
Shareholder
Bernstein Shur Sawyer & Nelson
With experience in a broad range of industries, including healthcare, hospitality, food and beverage, manufacturing,... | Read More
With experience in a broad range of industries, including healthcare, hospitality, food and beverage, manufacturing, retail, technology, transportation, and banking, Mr. Prescott helps businesses and individuals accomplish their goals by working closely with his clients and their advisors to understand the specifics of each situation and provide creative, cost-effective solutions to complex problems, both inside and outside of the courtroom.
CloseEarly Discount (through 06/20/25)