Dismissing Environmental Claims in Bankruptcy

Environmental issues often present some of the most difficult challenges for economically distressed companies and their advisors. The regulatory powers of enforcement agencies are generally immune from the automatic stay, contamination (or even the specter of possible contamination) can devalue facilities, and massive claims including administrative cleanup costs can doom reorganizations. These challenges combine to torture the restructuring professional when he or she tries to develop an answer to the most important strategic question at the outset of every engagement: What is the exit strategy?