The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 affords increased access to Chapter 11 Reorganization for small businesses and some individuals As businesses and individuals struggle to grasp the consequences of the current COVID-19 Pandemic, many businesses are struggling to determine how they will emerge from this pandemic going forward. How will businesses, who may or may not have been financially secure prior to the pandemic, create a financial plan and navigate the uncertainly following the COVID-19 outbreak? Fortunately, a new subchapter of the Bankruptcy Code was recently implemented that might assist those businesses in building such a plan and emerging from the insolvency concerns caused by this pandemic. On February 19, 2020, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (“SBRA”)[1] became effective, and modified several provisions of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. These modifications strive to make Chapter 11 more efficient, affordable, and accessible for small businesses throughout the […]

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created an unprecedented amount of uncertainty in every business sector and industry around the world. Chances are that your business has contracts that have been or may be affected by the pandemic. Many questions from our clients concern whether the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a force majeure event and excuses performance under a contract. What is force majeure? Force Majeure – An Act of God. Force majeure, French for greater force, describes any event that is unexpected by all parties, not caused by any party, and affects the relationship between them, limits the ability of either to perform a duty, or requires one to intrude on a privilege of the other. Bouvier Law Dictionary Tennessee courts have defined an “Act of God” as follows: Any misadventure or casualty is said to be caused by “Act of God” when it happens by the direct, immediate and exclusive […]

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