Kris Boudt, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Amsterdam
Title:Â Court Shopping, Pro-Debtor Bias, and Bankruptcy Outcomes.
´¡²ú²õ³Ù°ù²¹³¦³Ù:ÌýThe Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2021 requires large corporations to file for bankruptcy in their principle place of business or where significant assets are located. We study the impact of this bill on the firm’s chances to emerge successfully from bankruptcy, and on the leniency of court judges in grating motions that affect the debtor’s access to cash, access to credit and control of the reorganization plan. We use these three dimensions to quantify the effective pro-debtor bias of Chapter 11 bankruptcy judges based on their decisions within the first 120 days of a voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization of large, publicly held companies between 2004 and 2020. We find a positive association between court shopping and pro-debtor bias, but no effect on firm survival. Our results suggest that the refiling rate can be improved by providing more opportunities to creditors to be involved in the reorganization plan.
Hybride : Salle Xerox, HEC de Montréal