Source: https://www.bwlawcenter.com/our-blog/a-guide-to-the-small-business-reorganization-act-of-2019
Timestamp: 2020-06-05 18:37:07
Document Index: 193092871

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1181', '§ 101', '§ 101', '§ 362', '§ 1121', '§ 1129', '§ 1141', '§ 1141', '§ 1141', '§ 523', '§ 1141', '§ 362', '§ 1141', '§ 1192', '§ 1192', '§ 1141', '§ 503', '§ 523', '§ 362']

A GUIDE TO THE SMALL BUSINESS REORGANIZATION ACT OF 2019 - Financial relief law center, APC
The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (the “SBRA”) enacts a new subchapter V of chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, codified as new 11 U.S.C. §§ 1181 – 1195, and makes conforming amendments to several sections of the Bankruptcy Code and to statutes dealing with appointment and compensation of trustees in title 28. SBRA also revises the definitions of “small business case” and “small business debtor” in § 101(51C) and § 101(51D), respectively. It takes effect on February 19, 2020, 180 days after its enactment. Appendix A is a chart that lists sections of the Bankruptcy Code that SBRA affects and summarizes the changes.
The purpose of SBRA is “to streamline the process by which small business debtors reorganize and rehabilitate their financial affairs.” A sponsor of the legislation stated that it allows small business debtors “to file bankruptcy in a timely, cost-effective manner, and hopefully allows them to remain in business” which “not only benefits the owners, but employees, suppliers, customers, and others who rely on that business.”
For electing small business debtors, subchapter V has these important features: (1) it modifies confirmation requirements; (2) it provides for the participation of a trustee (the “sub V trustee”) while the debtor remains in possession of assets and operates the business as a debtor in possession; (3) it changes several administrative and procedural rules; and (4) it alters the rules for the debtor’s discharge and the definition of property of the estate with regard to property an individual debtor acquires postpetition and postpetition earnings (which has implications for operation of the automatic stay of § 362(a)).
Only the debtor may file a plan. The court may confirm a plan even if all classes reject it. Moreover, the “fair and equitable” requirement for “cramdown” confirmation does not include the absolute priority rule. Instead, the plan must comply with a new projected disposable income requirement (applicable in cases of entities as well as those of individuals). The cramdown requirements for a secured claim are unchanged. (Part VIII). A plan may modify a claim secured only by a security interest in the debtor’s principal residence if the new value received in connection with the granting of the security interest was not used primarily to acquire the property and was used primarily in connection with the small business of the debtor. Such modification is not permitted in standard or non-sub V chapter 11 cases or in chapter12 or 13 cases. (Section VII(B)).
Subchapter V provides for the debtor to remain in possession of assets and operate the business with the rights and powers of a trustee, unless the court removes the debtor as debtor in possession. (Part V). The United States Trustee appoints the trustee. The role of the trustee is to oversee and monitor the case, to appear and be heard on specified matters, to facilitate a consensual plan, and to make distributions under a nonconsensual plan confirmed under the cramdown provisions.
Subchapter V modifies the usual procedures in chapter 11 cases in several respects. No committee of unsecured creditors. A committee of unsecured creditors is not appointed unless the court orders otherwise. (SBRA also makes this the rule in a non-sub V case.) (Section VI(A)). Required status conference and report from debtor. The court must hold a status conference within 60 days of the filing “to further the expeditious and economical resolution” of the case. Not later than 14 days before the status conference, the debtor must file a report that details the efforts the debtor has undertaken and will undertake to achieve a consensual plan of reorganization. (Section VI(C)). Time for filing of plan. The debtor must file a plan within 90 days of the date of entry of the order for relief, unless the court extends the time based on circumstances for which the debtor should not justly be held accountable. The existing requirements in a small business case that a plan be filed within 300 days of the filing date (§ 1121(e)) and that confirmation occur within 45 days of the filing of the plan (§ 1129(e)) do not apply in a sub V case. (Section VI(D)). No disclosure statement. Section 1125, which states the requirements for a disclosure statement in connection with a plan and regulates the solicitation of acceptances of a plan, does not apply in a sub V case, unless the court orders otherwise. Although no disclosure statement is required, the plan must include: (1) a brief history of the business operations of the debtor; (2) a liquidation analysis; and (3) projections with respect to the ability of the debtor to make payments under the proposed plan. (Sections VI(B), VII(B)). No U.S. Trustee fees. A sub V debtor does not pay U.S. Trustee fees. (Section VI(E)).
If the court confirms a consensual plan, a sub V debtor (including an individual debtor) receives a discharge under § 1141(d)(1)(A) upon confirmation. The provision in § 1141(d)(5) for delay of discharge in individual cases until completion of payments does not apply in a sub V case. In the case of an individual, the § 1141(d)(1)(A) discharge does not discharge debts excepted under § 523(a). § 1141(d)(2). One effect of the grant of the discharge is that the automatic stay terminates under § 362(c)(2)(C). (Section X(A)). If the court confirms a cramdown plan, § 1141(d) does not apply, and confirmation does not result in a discharge. Instead, new § 1192 provides for a discharge, which does not occur until the debtor completes plan payments for a period of at least three years or such longer time not to exceed five years as the court fixes. (Section X(B)). Under new § 1192, the discharge in a cramdown case discharges the debtor from all debts specified in § 1141(d)(1)(A) and all other debts allowed under § 503 (administrative expenses), with the exception of: (1) debts on which the last payment is due after the first three years of the plan or such other time not exceeding five years as the court shall fix; and (2) debts excepted under § 523(a). (Section X(B)). Under § 362(c)(2), the automatic stay remains in effect after confirmation of a cramdown plan until the case is closed or dismissed, or the debtor receives a discharge.
http://www.ganb.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/sbra_guide_pwb.pdf