Alexandria, Va.— ABI’s Subchapter V Task Force will hold its first virtual public hearing at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, June 9, to receive witness testimony from bankruptcy judges, practitioners and subchapter V trustees on their general experiences with small business reorganizations under subchapter V of chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Witnesses scheduled to testify include:

·      Hon. Hannah L. Blumenstiel (N.D. Cal.; San Francisco)

·      Hon. Lori V. Vaughan (M.D. Fla.; Orlando)

·      Katherine Clark of Thompson Coburn LLP (Dallas)

·      John-Patrick M. Fritz of Levene Neale Bender Yoo & Golubchik, LLP (Los Angeles)

·      Richardo I. Kilpatrick of Kilpatrick & Associates, PC (Auburn Hills, Mich.)

·      David Mawhinney of Hart Advisory PLLC (Framingham, Mass.)

·      Brian L. Shaw of Cozen O'Connor (Chicago)

·      Michael St. James (San Francisco)

To register to join the public hearing administered via Zoom, please click here.

Background on the Task Force

The nine-member expert panel was established earlier this year to examine case law and statistical data under subchapter V since its enactment in 2020 through the present. This study will consider, among other things, how the subchapter is working in practice and whether it is achieving certain underlying objectives, such as assisting debtors and creditors in resolving the reorganization cases of small- and medium-sized businesses more effectively and efficiently, and what improvements it might need. The Task Force intends to solicit input about subchapter V from the public via virtual hearings and its forthcoming website, culminating in a final report to be delivered in April 2024.

Background on Subchapter V

The concept of subchapter V started as one of the centerpiece recommendations of ABI’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, which published its final report and recommendations in 2014. It was formalized in the Bankruptcy Code by the enactment of “The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019” (SBRA), which went into effect on February 19, 2020, to provide Main Street business debtors with a more streamlined path for restructuring their debts. The eligibility limit for small businesses looking to elect to file under SBRA's subchapter V was originally $2,725,625 of debt, but the threshold was increased to $7,500,000 with the enactment of the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) on March 27, 2020, in response to the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The increased debt limit received two subsequent extensions that were signed into law, but the last extension is due to sunset on June 21, 2024.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 10,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.