The validity of a reclamation claim depends on the criteria of sec. We need not work out such details, because bankruptcy intervened. How much a particular reclamation claim is worth, once sec. Given the finding that Reliable's creditors were undersecured, the district court had no op- tion other than to deem Bindley's administrative claim worthless. According to Bindley, res judicata and the law of the case prevented the district court from reaching its con- clusion, however justified it may have been as a matter of first principles.
Bankruptcy law contains many doctrines that protect reliance interests generated during litigation.
By the time the case got under way, the only questions were whether Bindley could reclaim the goods and, if not, how much money it would receive. Bindley was disappointed to learn that the secured creditors owned all of Reliable's inventory, but bad breaks are common in bankruptcy. They turned out to be, perhaps hoping to cut their litigation costs and bring this case to a con- clusion.