John J Rapisardi

March 05, 2009 | New York Law Journal

John J. Rapisardi, a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, reviews a recent decision in which the Third Circuit held that a showing of actual control of the debtor is not necessary to render a creditor an "insider" as defined in §101(31) of the Bankruptcy Code. Instead, it held that a creditor may constitute a "non-statutory insider" when it has a close relationship with a debtor and conduct other than closeness suggests that the transactions among them were not conducted at arm's length.

By John J. Rapisardi

11 minute read

March 15, 2007 | New York Law Journal

John J. Rapisardi, a partner at Weil, Gotshal and Manges LLP and an adjunct professor of law at Pace University School of Law, writes that papers submitted by the debtor and the Ad Hoc Committee in In re Northwest Airlines Corporation, et al. raise the issue of whether the mandated disclosure of information by the bankruptcy court represents a sea of change in existing practice or merely reaffirmation of a fairly straight forward procedural bankruptcy rule. The answer may be a little bit of both.

By John J. Rapisardi

13 minute read

September 12, 2007 | New York Law Journal

John J. Rapisardi, a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and an adjunct professor of law at Pace University School of Law, writes that although the 2005 Amendments to the Bankruptcy Code virtually preclude debtors from providing bonus payments in order to retain key employees during the course of a reorganization or liquidation, two recent cases from the Delaware Bankruptcy Court indicate a willingness to accept a debtor's bonus compensation plan as an "incentive" plan rather than a "retention" plan.

By John J. Rapisardi

12 minute read

January 31, 2007 | New York Law Journal

John J. Rapisardi, a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and adjunct professor of law at Pace University School of Law, writes that in recent years, hedge funds and private equity groups have been replacing traditional financial institutions as emergency sources of cash for financially distressed corporations looking to increase working capital or refinance existing obligations.

By John J. Rapisardi

11 minute read

March 13, 2003 | New York Law Journal

By John J. Rapisardi

12 minute read

March 27, 2003 | New York Law Journal

By John J. Rapisardi

9 minute read

July 03, 2007 | New York Law Journal

John J. Rapisardi, a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, writes that the Delaware Supreme Court recently took a further step in limiting the ability of creditors to bring claims against directors of financially troubled corporations, holding that individual creditors have no right, as a matter of law, to assert direct claims for breach of fiduciary duty against the directors of a Delaware corporation, regardless of whether such corporation is operating in the zone of insolvency or insolvent.

By John J. Rapisardi

11 minute read

May 14, 2009 | New York Law Journal

John J. Rapisardi, a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and an adjunct professor of law at Pace University School of Law, reviews a recent decision where the Bankruptcy Court recognized the voluntary winding up of an Australian company as a "foreign main proceeding," entitling the foreign debtor to certain protections of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, even though no petition or application was filed with an Australian court by the company's Australian shareholders or its liquidators. Although this decision may seem counterintuitive to those familiar only with the judicial bankruptcy process under the Bankruptcy Code, the holding demonstrates both the commonalities and distinctions in the applicable law governing bankruptcy and insolvency in the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions.

By John J. Rapisardi

11 minute read

March 14, 2011 | New York Law Journal

Todd R. Snyder, a senior managing director of Rothschild Inc., and John J. Rapisardi, a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, write that the ongoing public debate regarding the possible need to amend the Bankruptcy Code to permit sovereign states to seek bankruptcy protection should consider the essential nature of the state as a sovereign when considering the state as debtor.

By Todd R. Snyder and John J. Rapisardi

10 minute read

September 30, 2004 | New York Law Journal

John J. Rapisardi, a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and an adjunct professor of law at Pace University School of Law, reports that several courts have recently addressed the question of whether senior creditors are entitled to post-petition interest when junior creditors have agreed that their claims will not be paid until the senior claims are "paid in full."

By John J. Rapisardi

12 minute read