Lawyers React to High Court’s Limiting of Debt Plan Appeals

Andrew Sherman, Co-Chair of the Sills Cummis & Gross Creditors’ Rights/Bankruptcy Reorganization Practice Group, was one of several attorneys featured in this article, which starts out, “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that corporations and individuals do not have an absolute right to immediately appeal the rejection of a bankruptcy plan.”

According to Sherman, “The Supreme Court’s decision in Bullard v. Hyde Park is a blow to debtors in the reorganization process and another leverage point for creditors. In denying the right of a debtor to seek review of an order rejecting a plan, a debtor’s options in a reorganization case are limited and the ability to present untested legal theories are restricted. The duration of a reorganization case can be artificially extended increasing costs and potentially impairing the ability to effectuate a successful reorganization. The benefits of the reorganization process and the speed at which cases need to be administered and resolved will be hampered by the inability to seek review of orders denying confirmation. Creditors will use the inability to seek judicial review of an order denying confirmation as another tool to leverage their own positions and gain an advantage in the reorganization process.”