ESL Invs., L.P. v. Sears Holdings Corp. Debtor-Appellee (In re Sears Holdings Corp.)

BVLaw
Full Text of Court Cases
October 14, 2022
5311 Department Stores
452210 Department Stores
bankruptcy
collateral, discount, federal bankruptcy court, liquidation, retail, book value, burden of proof, inventory, liquidation method, replacement value

ESL Invs., L.P. v. Sears Holdings Corp. Debtor-Appellee (In re Sears Holdings Corp.)
2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 28584
US
Federal Court
2nd Circuit
United States Court of Appeals
Marti Murray; David Schulte; William Henrich
Sullivan, Bianco, Chen

Summary

Second-lien holders, entitled to payment only after the debts of first-lien holders have been discharged, argued that the value of the collateral that secured their claims, as measured on the petition date, vastly exceeded what they had been paid and that they were accordingly entitled to priority payment of the difference. At trial, all parties put on evidence as to the value of the assets at the petition date. The differences varied widely. “The differences among these values turned primarily on how the experts calculated the revenue Debtors could expect to earn from selling their inventory.” The appeal dealt primarily with this inventory issue and how it should be valued.
Esl Invs., L.P. v. Sears Holdings Corp. Debtor-Appellee (In re Sears Holdings Corp.)
PDF, Size: 361 KB

See Also

Valuation of Inventory Key to Decision on Collateral Value in Bankruptcy

Second-lien holders, entitled to payment only after the debts of first-lien holders have been discharged, argued that the value of the collateral that secured their claims, as measured on the petition date, vastly exceeded what they had been paid and that they were accordingly entitled to priority payment of the difference. At trial, all parties put on evidence as to the value of the assets at the petition date. The differences varied widely. “The differences among these values turned primarily on how the experts calculated the revenue Debtors could expect to earn from selling their inventory.” The appeal dealt primarily with this inventory issue and how it should be valued.