Hotel Law Blog

17 May 2020
Click to see our category-killer experience with hotels. See also our distressed loan credentials. And click here for the latest blog articles on loan modifications, workouts, bankruptcies and receiverships, and here for The Lenders Handbook for Troubled Hotels.

Hotel Lawyer: Increasing Distressed Hotel Loans and Troubled Hotel Assets

Originally published in November 2008 on HotelLawBlog.com, then updated in 2010 for our Lenders Handbook for Troubled Hotels, we have updated this article through May 2020 to assist industry friends in dealing with distressed loans provoked by the COVID-19 crisis. 

How can a “special purpose entity” borrower ever file bankruptcy
if independent directors must approve the filing?
by
Jim Butler, Bob Kaplan, and Nick De Lancie

Since the mid-1990s, lenders on hotels and resorts have generally required their borrowers to transfer the asset being financed into a “single purpose” LLC or other “bankruptcy remote” entity sometimes respectively referred to as an “SPE” and “BRE.” The main feature of an SPE is that it owns only the single asset being mortgaged, is unlikely to become insolvent due to its own activities, and is generally protected from the effects of the insolvency of its affiliates. The main feature of a BRE is that filing bankruptcy is only a remote possibility because of various inherent or contractual legal requirements built into the very entity.

What is a bankruptcy remote entity? Why use one?

A BRE is an entity (usually an SPE) that has a structural layer of protection in its organic documents that makes it more difficult for the entity to seek bankruptcy protection. A number of approaches have been developed to create this “bankruptcy remote” structural layer.

Today, a BRE’s structural protection for the lender typically provides in its organic documents that in order to commence a bankruptcy case, approval must first be obtained from one or more independent directors or the equivalent, depending on the entity. Such a person must be independent of the borrower and is appointed by the lender, or approved by the lender. For simplicity, we will call such persons “independent directors.”

The lender expects that the independent director simply will not approve the entity’s commencement of any bankruptcy case. Thus, without a bankruptcy, the lender would be able to foreclose on the hotel or real estate without the delay and cost of bankruptcy.

Clashing fundamental principles – state corporate governance vs federal bankruptcy relief

At root, each BRE approach or strategy is based on the long-established, fundamental principle that, even though bankruptcy is a federal law matter, the entities in question are created under and governed by state law. Some believe that such corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships or other types of “corporate” entities can only be governed by the law of the state in which the corporate entity was organized. Therefore, the organic documents of the entity (adopted pursuant to that state’s law), govern who has the authority to decide that the entity will commence a bankruptcy case.

But this long-established principle of state law controlling corporate governance runs headlong into another long-established, fundamental principle of bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Code (section 109(a)) expressly authorizes any “person” to file a bankruptcy petition. A person includes any corporation, limited liability company, and general or limited partnership. Waivers or attempts to contractually surrender this right are void as against public policy and, thus, unenforceable. CONTINUE READING →

27 April 2020

Click to see our category-killer experience with hotels. See also our distressed loan credentials. And click here for the latest blog articles on loan modifications, workouts, bankruptcies and receiverships, and here for The Lenders Handbook for Troubled Hotels.

Hotel Lawyer: Increasing Distressed Hotel Loans and Troubled Hotel Assets

This article was published originally in November 2008 on HotelLawBlog.com and then updated in 2010 for our Lenders Handbook for Troubled Hotels. In light of the recent increase in distressed loans provoked by the COVID-19 crisis and resulting economic impact, we thought it might be important to bring the information current through April 2020.

Can a hotel ever be “single asset real estate” for bankruptcy purposes?
What is “SARE” and who cares?

by
Jim Butler, Bob Kaplan, and Nick De Lancie

Hotel Lawyers: Lender tips on forbearances, loan modifications, recapitalizations, receiverships, workouts, turnarounds, restructurings, and bankruptcies

CMBS lenders and others use SPEs for expedited remedies

Hotels, resorts, marinas, retail mixed-use, and other hospitality-related assets will likely continue to present challenges to lenders seeking expedited relief from bankruptcy stay provisions available to creditors in “single asset real estate” bankruptcy cases.

Since the mid-1990s, lenders on hotels, resorts, and other hospitality properties have generally required their borrowers to transfer the asset being financed into an entity (generally a corporation, limited liability company, or limited partnership) that was both “bankruptcy remote” (a “BRE”) and “special purpose” (also called “single purpose”) (an “SPE”). An SPE is an entity that owns only the asset being mortgaged, is unlikely to become insolvent due to its own activities, and is generally protected from the effects of the insolvency of its affiliates. A BRE is an SPE that has a further, structural layer of protection for the lender provided by provisions, such as the requirement for an independent director or manager who must approve the commencement of any bankruptcy case, that make its bankruptcy case more difficult.

Under the Bankruptcy Code, if a bankruptcy case involves “single asset real estate” (often called “SARE”), the proceedings will tilt greatly in favor of the lender/creditor secured by that SARE. Intuitively, then, an SPE that holds a single real estate asset would seem automatically to hold “single asset real estate” under the Bankruptcy Code. It is not, however, that simple.

This article will examine why this is important to lenders and borrowers, give an overview of the SARE determination, and provide some practical strategies.

The legal significance of SARE status (or not) for lenders

The determination that a borrower/debtor holds “single asset real estate” has important consequences for its bankruptcy case. In a SARE case, the creditor/lender secured by the real estate asset will be entitled to relief from Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay as a matter of right unless the debtor does one of two things within 90 days (subject to extension) of commencing its case.

Under Bankruptcy Code section 363(d)(3), to avoid relief from the automatic stay being granted to a secured creditor (if it seeks it) with “single asset real estate” collateral, the debtor that holds that collateral must, within that 90 days, either:

1. File a plan of reorganization in its case that has a reasonable possibility of being confirmed within a reasonable time; or
2. Commence making monthly, interest-only payments to the secured creditor at the then-applicable non-default contract rate of interest on the value of the creditor’s interest in the SARE.

These are often difficult to accomplish unless the real estate asset is really viable and cash is flowing. CONTINUE READING →