Debt or Equity? SDNY Bankruptcy Court Says "Debt" in a Recent Case Involving Recharacterization of a Party's Debt Claim as Equity | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Overview In a recent decision, In re Live Primary, LLC, 626 B.R. 171, 178 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2021), the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York found that a $6 million debt claim arising from purported loans to a debtor from one of its members should be recharacterized as an equity interest. Although debt held by insiders and shareholders is often closely scrutinized when a debtor files for chapter 11 protection, recharacterization of this nature remains a rare form of relief so long as the lender has adhered to basic loan formalities. However, when dealing with unique facts...