“Bankruptcy Lover” – by Bankruptcy Bill and The Fresh Starts
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Bankruptcy Bill is a cartoon created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall. To see more strips as well as original bankruptcy haiku, go to bankruptcybill.wordpress.com.
Ladies and gentlemen, debtors and creditors, we are pleased to share the debut single by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts….
“Bankruptcy Lover“
http://bankruptcybill.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/bankruptcylovermp3.mp3
(Click either the link above or the image below to listen.)
Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts groupies can get their…
Click here for the lyrics and explanatory notes as well as a note on copyright and use restrictions.
Come along, come with me to Wilmington, Delaware
We’ll file first day motions and then we’ll say a prayer
And when the Notice of Disclosure Statement Hearing is set
I’ll wrassle with the banks ’til they restructure your debt
We’ll hide ‘neath legal cover, I’m your bankruptcy lover tonight
>>>>>
And while your creditors are clamoring for things that they want
I’ll exercise my lien on you up in the DuPont
We’ll cram the plan down on the creditors committee
You’ll tie me up and make me your indentured trustee
We’ll hide ‘neath legal cover I’m your bankruptcy lover tonight
>>>>>
And there’ll be no more objections to my affections
No bagels thrown
You’ll let me DIP my romancing in your financing
When I get you a loan
>>>>>
So come on hurry up though Amtrak will be late
So we can get together for an effective date
I ain’t Kirkland or Skadden, baby, that’s not my style
But my love comes prepackaged and it’s bigger than Weil
We’ll hide ‘neath legal cover I’m your bankruptcy lover tonight
>>>>>
[Struck Finn Solo]
>>>>>
You’ve got a debtor obsession in your possession
I’m your fresh start
So then if my passion smolders for your bondholders
You’ll assume or reject my heart
>>>>>
So let’s get rockin’ on the docket if you know what I mean
And if you don’t like going south we’ll do it in Bowling Green
I’ll help review the Code and figure out the right section
And make sure when the Court approves we use it’s protection
We’ll hide ‘neath legal cover I’m your bankruptcy lover tonight (Retain my heart)
We’ll hide ‘neath legal cover I’m your bankruptcy lover tonight (That’s nunc pro tunc)
We’ll hide ‘neath legal cover I’m your bankruptcy lover tonight (Don’t cram me down)
We’ll hide ‘neath legal cover I’m your bankruptcy lover tonight
(All rise. The Court is now in session.)
**********************************************
Explanatory notes for the non-corporate bankruptcy practitioner
- Wilmington, Delaware – The most popular venue for corporate bankruptcy filings
- First day motions – On the day of a bankruptcy filing, a significant number of motions are typically filed with the Court and collectively referred to as “first day motions.”
- Notice of Disclosure Statement Hearing – A notice letting creditors know the date the Court will hold a hearing to consider the disclosure statement, i.e, a document (often a large, bound booklet) a debtor is required to file in which it is required to disclose certain information about its business.
- Lien – a claim on property, typically with higher priority than most other claims by creditors. Property secured by a lien is claimed by “exercising” the lien.
- DuPont – The DuPont Hotel is the hotel where out-of-town bankruptcy professionals stay when in Wilmington, DE for a bankruptcy case filing.
- Cram the plan down – If a debtor is unable to gain acceptances from all creditor classes, it can rely on certain provisions of the Bankruptcy Code to get the Court to force a given creditor class to accept the plan of reorganization. This is known as a “cramdown” and a debtor is said to “cram the plan down” on the dissenting creditor class.
- Indentured trustee – A play on the term “indenture trustee,” which is the designated agent for a given bond issuance and often a key point of contact in a debtor’s relationship with its bondholders.
- No bagels thrown – A reference to the notorious bagel-throwing incident by a well-known bankruptcy lawyer.
- DIP – An acronym for Debtor-In-Possession, i.e., the concept that the Debtor’s management (as opposed to some sort of outside trustee) continues to run the business during the course of the bankruptcy process.
- DIP Financing/DIP Loan – A loan made to a Debtor post-filing (i.e., during the bankruptcy process) that is given special priority ahead of other creditors by the Bankruptcy Code and provides incentive to lenders by reassuring them that they are likely to be repaid.
- Amtrak – The transportation mode of choice by many New York bankruptcy lawyers for travel to the Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, DE.
- Effective Date – The date the plan of reorganization is implemented and the Debtor begins making payments.
- Kirkland/Skadden – Kirkland & Ellis and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom–Two of the biggest most prestigious law firms with top-rated bankruptcy groups known for handling large debtor cases.
- Prepackaged – A “prepackaged bankruptcy filing” (aka “prepack”) is one where the plan of reorganization is negotiated and approved by creditors prior to the filing so that on the day of the filing the entire case is presented to the Court. Often used by Debtors who have a solid underlying business but excessive bondholder debt, it is considered a more efficient way to get through the bankruptcy process.
- Weil – Weil, Gotshal & Manges – Historically known for having the largest and strongest bankruptcy practice and serving as debtor’s counsel to Enron, Worldcom, Adelphia and Lehman Brothers, Weil Gotshal was big in bankruptcy before bankruptcy was cool.
- Debtor obsession in your possession – A play on the term “Debtor In Possession” or “DIP” as explained in #9.
- Fresh start – The term commonly (over-) used to describe the intended benefit of a bankruptcy filing. (As if everything is hunky-dory following a discharge.)
- Assume or reject – A reference to the procedure outlined in the Bankruptcy Code concerning a debtor’s ability to assume or reject leases and certain other contractual obligations. Often in the context of a motion, e.g., “Motion to Assume or Reject Executory Contracts.”
- Bowling Green – The Lower Manhattan location (and subway stop on the 4/5 train) of the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). The SDNY and Wilmington, DE bankruptcy courts are the two most common venues for large bankruptcy case filings.
- Nunc pro tunc – A Latin phrase that, in the context of the retention of bankruptcy professionals, means “retroactively.” Used when work was necessarily performed prior to the official retention of a lawyer or other professional service provider. e.g., “The debtor seeks the retention of ABC Law firm nunc pro tunc to March 1, 2009.”
- Don’t cram me down – A reference to the “cram down” provisions of the Bankruptcy Code as described in #6 above.
Hope you enjoyed the song and the explanations. If nothing else, at least you’ve got something to sing at ABI karaoke night.
Yours truly,
–Bill & Struck
p.s. Regarding copyright issues and use restrictions, our legal counsel, IP Aileen, says: “Other bloggers/websites/publications/ and any other media outlets, publishers or distributors: You are more than welcome to post the “Bankruptcy Lover” song on your sites as long as you also include all of the text, links and images in this post, including this paragraph. If you fail to respect our wishes, then we’ll force you to listen to the muzak version of this song over and over and over while being stuck between floors of a Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Wilmington.”
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