By Jonathan C. Gordon (Jones Day).
Consider an insolvency proceeding outside the United States. To obtain ancillary relief in the U.S., an authorized representative from that foreign proceeding can file a petition with a U.S. court under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code. In chapter 15, the foreign representative acts as a liaison between the U.S. proceeding and the foreign proceeding. For example, the representative must update the U.S. court of substantial developments in the foreign proceeding.
But what happens when that foreign representative (appointed by a foreign court) commits misconduct in the U.S. proceeding; what can the U.S. court do? As I explain in my paper, courts have struggled with a solution. For one, the Bankruptcy Code does not address this situation (nor does the related UNCITRAL Model Law). And common law is equally unavailing; courts have tried and suggested potential solutions, but those approaches (and others) fall short.
In my paper, I propose a novel solution that is simple yet effective: the U.S. court should request the foreign court to replace the foreign representative. I also analyze legal issues related to the solution’s implementation, such as judicial authority, burden of proof, timing, and interim relief.
The full paper, recently published in the ABI Law Review, can be accessed here.