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This Informational Brief is provided by NACM Oregon for the benefit of its members.
Small Business Provisions
Editors’ Note: This is the fifteenth of 22 installments that are
being published here, with permission from the American
Bankruptcy Institute. The series, read consecutively, will give
the reader a broad overview of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy
process. The installments are chapters from a CD-Rom that is
available for purchase for $50 ($20 to ABI members) through
the ABI. For more information, you can call the ABI at
(703) 739-0800 or go to www.abiworld.org. The authors
welcome your comments and questions as well, and you may
feel free to contact them. Jonathan Friedland is a member of
the ABI Board of Directors as well as a member of NACM
Oregon.
One of the things about Chapter 11 that presents
itself in many contexts in practice is the fact that it is a
“one-size fits all” statute: for the most part, the same
exact Bankruptcy Code sections, Rules, and case law
applies to Betty & Veronica’s Bake Shop as to J.P.
Dithers & Company. This comes up all the time: for
example, a motion to extend a deadline, like
exclusivity, is common in large cases and is often
granted, since the time limits that the Code provides as
defaults often cannot accommodate the realities of the
large case. There are, however, some Bankruptcy
Code sections that address the particular needs of
smaller cases.
These provisions impose deadlines and reporting
requirements that may be burdensome. However, they
also contain provisions that may make it easier and
more cost effective for smaller companies to obtain the
benefits of Chapter 11, in part by expediting the plan
confirmation process and by instilling some rigor and
discipline to prevent the case from loosing momentum
and bogging down in the swamp that Chapter 11 can
become.
BAPCPA added or amended many sections dealing
with small business debtors. These include:
Issue 8.15, May 2009
CHAPTER 11 - 101 THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF CHAPTER 11 PRACTICE: A PRIMER
By Jonathan P. Friedl