Winning Losses: Trading Injunctions and the Treatment of Net Operating Loss Carryovers in Chapter 11
Bankruptcy judges routinely enjoin debt and equity trading during Chapter 11 proceedings in order to protect bankrupt corporations’ net operating loss (NOL) tax credits. These credits disappear if a corporation changes ownership. Firms and judges reason that Chapter 11’s automatic stay prohibits any trading that would imperil NOL credits by causing a change in ownership. […]