The bankruptcy creditor-rights docket is doctrine-dense this week. Fourth Circuit's Cook opinion (Apr 27, 2026) narrows equitable mootness in Chapter 13 — the cross-circuit drift on the doctrine is now the single most active battleground in confirmation appeals. Purdue plan went effective May 1, 2026 with first tranche payments flowing (cross-link Tab 06). SDNY Chapter 15 third-party-release ruling (May 2026, Mayer Brown) opens a comity-based workaround to Harrington v. Purdue Pharma. Highland Capital remand drafting and Serta S.D. Tex. trial (set Feb 2026, likely sliding) are the gating events of the next 60 days. Subchapter V threshold restoration bill (S. 3977) sits in Senate Judiciary. Watch: 4th Cir. en banc petition deadline; Red River Talc 5th Cir. oral-argument calendar; first batch of Boy Scouts Trust second-distributions.
Cook v. Chapter 13 Trustee, No. 25-1048 (4th Cir. Apr. 27, 2026). Just-issued published panel opinion limiting equitable mootness in a single-debtor Chapter 13 confirmation appeal. The court reversed a district-court dismissal that had treated post-confirmation payments and the entry of a successor plan as enough to moot the appeal. Held equitable mootness is a "narrow, pragmatic doctrine" — not a routine shield in single-debtor consumer cases. Creates fresh tension with the Second Circuit's substantial-consummation presumption and reinforces the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits' more restrictive approach. Petition for rehearing en banc is the next watchpoint; if denied, cert clock starts and a SCOTUS petition could land in late summer. NCBRC and Bernstein Burkley have written it up; National Law Review summary expected.
SDNY Chapter 15 third-party-release ruling (May 2026, Mayer Brown). District court confirmed that nonconsensual third-party releases can survive Harrington v. Purdue Pharma when imposed in foreign restructuring proceedings recognized via Chapter 15 — applying comity rather than Section 1129 to the release issue. Pillsbury and other restructuring practices are tracking this as a meaningful workaround to Purdue. The doctrinal implication: U.S. issuers with foreign-recognized restructurings may continue to obtain nonconsensual releases that would be foreclosed under a direct Section 1129 plan. Expect appeal to the Second Circuit. Delaware bankr. court (Dec 2025) separately rejected a broad gatekeeper provision citing Highland Capital and Purdue — drafters cannot back-door exculpation through gatekeeper language. 9th Cir. v. 5th Cir. exculpation split continues to widen: Blixseth permits narrow exculpation for plan participants; Highland limits to estate fiduciaries only.
In re Red River Talc LLC (5th Cir.). J&J's third Texas Two-Step attempt was dismissed March 2025 (S.D. Tex.) for the same bad-faith-filing concerns that took down LTL Management Rounds 1 and 2. Appeal is now in the Fifth Circuit (S.D. Tex. venue). DOJ U.S. Trustee continues aggressive opposition to liability-management bankruptcy. Without a circuit-level published opinion endorsing divisional-merger structures on the merits, the practical playbook for mass-tort defendants now favors litigation settlement (3M's $6B AFFF approach) or aggregate-settlement in MDL — not bankruptcy. Watch for an oral-argument calendar entry summer/fall 2026.
Purdue Pharma plan effective May 1, 2026 per Michigan AG implementation order. Initial tranche: ~$1.5B from Sacklers plus ~$900M from Purdue at effectiveness. Subsequent Sackler tranches scheduled $500M May 2027, $500M May 2028, $400M May 2029. April 29, 2026 NJ federal criminal sentencing of $5.5B cleared the path for dissolution and trust funding. Assets transfer to Knoa Pharma (new non-profit focused on opioid-treatment medicines). ProPublica and CNN Health are documenting victim documentation/exclusion gaps under the new framework. Cross-link Tab 06 (this is the same matter on the mega-class settlements list).
Cook rehearing en banc petition in the 4th Cir. by mid-June. Red River Talc oral-argument calendar entry at the 5th Cir. Serta S.D. Tex. trial (set Feb 2026, likely slipping) — if it proceeds, expect a damages judgment and a renewed appellate cycle; if it settles, the 5th Cir.'s interpretive holding stands as the law. S. 3977 Subchapter V threshold bill — Senate Judiciary action; ABI backing. Boy Scouts Trust second-distribution rollout. PFAS/AFFF first personal-injury cohort — mid-late 2026 expected payment start. SDNY Chapter 15 release ruling appeal — watch for Second Circuit briefing schedule. Q2 2026 mega Chapter 11 filings — Q1 commercial Ch. 11s up 42% YoY (Epiq May 6, 2026); healthcare up 33%.
references/background.md.