In an article published in The International Scene column of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s ABI Journal, Partners George Shuster and Benjamin Loveland discuss the various decisions that indicate a trend of US Courts’ respect toward foreign insolvency proceedings when addressing Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code.
Excerpt: “In Barnet, the Second Circuit undertook a straightforward statutory interpretation analysis, observing that by its terms, § 109 (a) applies to all debtors under the Code, and that there is no language anywhere in the Code that excludes Chapter 15 debtors from § 109 (a)’s requirements. The court concluded that § 109 (a) does indeed apply to Chapter 15 debtors.
In April 2024, the Eleventh Circuit disagreed. It acknowledged that the Second Circuit’s statutory interpretation was 'straightforward' but, drawing on Eleventh Circuit precedent analyzing prior versions of the relevant statutory sections, found an 'anomaly' within the text that creates ambiguity as to whether § 109 (a) applies in Chapter 15 cases.”
