With interest rates on the rise, and the availability of inexpensive credit diminishing, reinstatement under Bankruptcy Code §1124(2)—one of the two methods in the Bankruptcy Code to accomplish a "cram-up" Chapter 11 plan of reorganization—will again become an attractive restructuring strategy.

To formulate a reinstatement plan that will survive challenges, debtors and creditors should heed the lessons from two high-profile reinstatement cases from the Southern District of New York that were decided just months apart: Charter Communications and Young Broadcasting.

This article provides an overview of reinstatement, explores the facts that led the Charter court to allow reinstatement and the Young Broadcasting court to reject it and explains how the rising interest rate environment may affect Chapter 11 plan confirmations.