BANKRUPTCY REORGANIZATION SEMINAR

SYLLABUS

PROF. FERRIELL - FALL 2000

Introduction

Course Requirements

Course Materials

Assignments

Prof. Ferriell's Homepage

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Capital's Bankruptcy Reorganization Seminar.  During the semester we will study the law of business reorganizations under the United States Bankruptcy Code.

There is a chance that the bankruptcy code will be substantially amended this semester - but that's also what I said last semester, and the semester before that.   Presidential election year politics will likely play a role in any changes made to the bankruptcy code.  I will keep you posted regarding these developments.  You can keep track of them by looking at the American Bankruptcy Institute's Web Page, at http://www.abiworld.org/headlines/todayshead.html daily.  Additional information about the pending legislation can be found at http://www.abiworld.org/legis/newlegfront.html. The American Bankruptcy Institute's homepage, containing a wealth of information about bankruptcy law is at http://www.abiworld.org.

I can be reached most easily in my office shortly after my Contracts class on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 3:30-5:00 p.m., or before this class on Thursday afternoon from 4-5:30.  Other times you are likely to find it useful to reach me by phone at the office (236-6683) or at home (444-3994). The most reliable method of reaching me is by e-mail at: jferriell@law.capital.edu
 

COURSE MATERIALS

The required course materials are:

• Scarberry, Klee, Newton, & Nickles, Business Reorganization in Bankruptcy (1996)
• 1999 or 2000 Law School Edition, Bankruptcy Code, Rules and Official Forms
• Selected Commercial Statutes (from your UCC class)

You might find it useful to consult one or more of the following sources:

• Blum - Bankruptcy and Debtor/Creditor, Examples and Explanations (Aspen)
• Tabb - The Law of Bankruptcy (Foundation)
• Epstein, Nickles, & White (as in White & Summers), Bankruptcy (West)
• Herbert, Understanding Bankruptcy (Lexis - Matthew Bender)
• Collier on Bankruptcy (15th ed. Matthew Bender)

Blum is in the library, and probably at the bookstore.  Neither Tabb, nor Epstein, Nickles & White, are in the library.  Collier is the premier multi-volume bankruptcy treatise.  It is in the library at KF 1524.C64, with the rest of the Law School's bankruptcy collection.   This is in the SE portion of  the 3d floor stacks.

You should also register for The West Education Network (TWEN), which can be reached from http://lawschool.westlaw.com  I will post course related material on TWEN on a regular basis.  And, as indicated below, you are required to participate in the Class Discussion feature of TWEN at least three times during the semester.

Finally, you will occasionably find it useful to consult selected provisions of Article 9 of the UCC and other materials contained in your copy of Selected Commercial and Debtor-Creditor Statutes.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Course requirements will include: 1) class preparation, attendance, and participation; 2) completion of an outline, first draft and final draft of a research paper on a topic selected by you and approved by me; 3) drafting of a reorganization plan for a small business; and 4) a classroom presentation about your research paper topic.  There will be no final exam.

Grading will be based on the following:

• Research Paper Outline: 10%
• Research Paper First Draft 20%
• Research Paper Final Draft 40%
• Classroom Presentation 10%
• Reorganization Plan 10%
• Attendance, Preparation, & Participation 10%

Attendance & Participation. I expect you to attend every regularly scheduled class session. I will take attendance daily. I also expect you to make a reasonable and good faith effort to attend any make up classes that need to be scheduled due to emergencies or conflicting law school business.  I expect you, as well, to prepare for every class and participate in class discussions on a volunteer basis and when called upon. If you can't show up, be prepared, and participate at some reasonable level, please take another course!

READING ASSIGNMENTS

These assignments include any relevant statutory provisions mentioned in the textual material, including annotations associated with those statutory provisions and contained in the statutory supplement.

Suggested Paper Topics:

You may choose from among the following topics for your paper:

• Jury Trials in Bankruptcy Court
• Treatment of Intellectual Property Licensing Contracts
• Equitable Subordination of Claims
• Trading Claims
• Mass Tort Claims in Bankruptcy
• State Soverign Immunity in Bankruptcy Proceedings
• Collective Bargaining Contracts in Bankruptcy
• Environmental Clean-up Claims in Bankruptcy
• Hiring & Compensation of Professionals by the Debtor-in-Possession
• Substantive & Procedural Consolidation of Bankruptcy Cases
• International Bankruptcy Proceedings
• Comparative Bankruptcy Law
• Special Problems of Single Asset Bankruptcies
• Municipal Reorganization under Chapter 9 of the Bankuptcy Code
• Family Farm Reorganization under Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code
• Treatment of Insider Guarantees in Bankruptcy
• Leveraged Buyout Transactions in Bankruptcy
• Federal Tax Problems in Chapter 11
• Transfer of Net Operating Losses in Bankruptcy Reorganization
• Partnership Bankruptcies
• Proposed Changes to Chapter 11

Other topics are subject to approval. 
 

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Last Revised: 09/11/00