Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc.

Valley agreed to purchase Bedford Downs’ stock for $55 million if it got the last harness-racing license in Pennsylvania, Valley got the license and arranged for Credit Suisse to wire $55 million to third-party escrow agent Citizens Bank. Bedford Downs shareholders, including Merit, deposited their stock certificates into escrow. Citizens disbursed the $55 million according to the agreement. Merit received $16.5 million. Valley was unable to achieve its goal of opening a racetrack casino and, with its parent company, Centaur, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. FTI, the trustee, sought to avoid the transfer to Merit for the sale of Bedford stock, arguing that it was constructively fraudulent under 11 U.S.C. 548(a)(1)(B). Merit contended that the section 546(e) safe harbor barred FTI from avoiding the transfer because it was a “settlement payment . . . made by or to (or for the benefit of)” two “financial institutions,” Credit Suisse and Citizens Bank. The Seventh Circuit held that section 546(e) did not protect transfers in which financial institutions served as mere conduits. A unanimous Supreme Court affirmed. The only relevant transfer for purposes of the 546(e) safe harbor is the transfer that the trustee seeks to avoid and not its component parts. FTI sought to avoid the Valley-to-Merit transfer; neither Valley or Merit is a covered entity, so the transfer falls outside of the 546(e) safe harbor. View "Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc." on Justia Law