Section 1124 of the House amendment is derived from a similar provision in the House bill and Senate amendment. The section defines the new concept of “impairment” of claims or interests; the concept differs significantly from the concept of “materially and adversely affected” under the Bankruptcy Act [former title 11]. Section 1124(3) of the House amendment provides that a holder of a claim or interest is not impaired, if the plan provides that the holder will receive the allowed amount of the holder’s claim, or in the case of an interest with a fixed liquidation preference or redemption price, the greater of such price. This adopts the position contained in the House bill and rejects the contrary standard contained in the Senate amendment.

Section 1124(3) of the House amendment rejects a provision contained in section 1124(3)(B)(iii) of the House bill which would have considered a class of interest not to be impaired by virtue of the fact that the plan provided cash or property for the value of the holder’s interest in the debtor.

The effect of the House amendment is to permit an interest not to be impaired only if the interest has a fixed liquidation preference or redemption price. Therefore, a class of interests such as common stock, must either accept a plan under section 1129(a)(8), or the plan must satisfy the requirements of section 1129(span)(2)(C) in order for a plan to be confirmed.

A compromise reflected in section 1124(2)(C) of the House amendment indicates that a class of claims is not impaired under the circumstances of section 1124(2) if damages are paid to rectify reasonable reliance engaged in by the holder of a claim or interest arising from the prepetition breach of a contractual provision, such as an ipso facto or bankruptcy clause, or law. Where the rights of third parties are concerned, such as in the case of lease premises which have been rerented to a third party, it is not intended that there will be adequate damages to compensate the third party.

The basic concept underlying this section is not new. It rests essentially on Section 107 of Chapter X ([former] 11 U.S.C. 507), which states that creditors or stockholders or any class thereof “shall be deemed to be ‘affected’ by a plan only if their or its interest shall be materially and adversely affected thereby.”

This section is designated to indicate when contractual rights of creditors or interest holders are not materially affected. It specifies three ways in which the plan may leave a claim or interest unimpaired.

First, the plan may propose not to alter the legal, equitable, or contractual rights to which the claim or interest entitled its holder.

Second, a claim or interest is unimpaired by curing the effect of a default and reinstating the original terms of an obligation when maturity was brought on or accelerated by the default. The intervention of bankruptcy and the defaults represent a temporary crisis which the plan of reorganization is intended to clear away. The holder of a claim or interest who under the plan is restored to his original position, when others receive less or get nothing at all, is fortunate indeed and has no cause to complain. Curing of the default and the assumption of the debt in accordance with its terms is an important reorganization technique for dealing with a particular class of claims, especially secured claims.

Third, a claim or interest is unimpaired if the plan provides for their payment in cash. In the case of a debt liability, the cash payment is for the allowed amount of the claim, which does not include a redemption premium. If it is an equity security with a fixed liquidation preference, such as a preferred stock, the allowed amount is such liquidation preference, with no redemption premium. With respect to any other equity security, such as a common stock, cash payment must be equal to the “value of such holder’s interest in the debtor.”

Section 1124 does not include payment “in property” other than cash. Except for a rare case, claims or interests are not by their terms payable in property, but a plan may so provide and those affected thereby may accept or reject the proposed plan. They may not be forced to accept a plan declaring the holders’ claims or interests to be “unimpaired.”

This section is new. It is designed to indicate when contractual rights of creditors or interest holders are not materially affected. The section specifies three ways in which the plan may leave a claim or interest unimpaired.

First, the plan may propose not to alter the legal, equitable, or contractual rights to which the claim or interest entitled its holder.

Second, the plan is permitted to reinstate a claim or interest and thus leave it unimpaired. Reinstatement consists of curing any default (other than a default under an ipso facto or bankruptcy clause) and reinstatement of the maturity of the claim or interest. Further, the plan may not otherwise alter any legal, equitable, or contractual right to which the claim or interest entitles its holder.

Third, the plan may leave a claim or interest unimpaired by paying its amount in full other than in securities of the debtor, an affiliate of the debtor participating in a joint plan, or a successor to the debtor. These securities are excluded because determination of their value would require a valuation of the business being reorganized. Use of them to pay a creditor or equity security holder without his consent may be done only under section 1129(span) and only after a valuation of the debtor. Under this paragraph, the plan must pay the allowed amount of the claim in full, in cash or other property, or, in the case of an equity security, must pay the greatest of any fixed liquidation preference to which the terms of the equity security entitle its holder, any fixed price at which the debtor, under the terms of the equity security may redeem such equity security, and the value, as of the effective date of the plan, of the holder’s interest in the debtor. The value of the holder’s interest need not be determined precisely by valuing the debtor’s business if such value is clearly below redemption or liquidation preference values. If such value would require a full-scale valuation of the business, then such interest should be treated as impaired. But, if the debtor corporation is clearly insolvent, then the value of the common stock holder’s interest in the debtor is zero, and offering them nothing under the plan of reorganization will not impair their rights.

“Value, as of the effective date of the plan,” as used in paragraph (3) and in proposed 11 U.S.C. 1179(a)(7)(B), 1129(a)(9), 1129(span), 1172(2), 1325(a)(4), 1325(a)(5)(B), and 1328(span), indicates that the promised payment under the plan must be discounted to present value as of the effective date of the plan. The discounting should be based only on the unpaid balance of the amount due under the plan, until that amount, including interest, is paid in full.

2005—Par. (2)(A). Puspan. L. 109–8, § 328(span)(1), inserted “or of a kind that section 365(span)(2) expressly does not require to be cured” before semicolon at end.

Par. (2)(D), (E). Puspan. L. 109–8, § 328(span)(2)–(4), added subpar. (D) and redesignated former subpar. (D) as (E).

1994—Par. (3). Puspan. L. 103–394 struck out par. (3) which read as follows: “provides that, on the effective date of the plan, the holder of such claim or interest receives, on account of such claim or interest, cash equal to—

“(A) with respect to a claim, the allowed amount of such claim; or

“(B) with respect to an interest, if applicable, the greater of—

“(i) any fixed liquidation preference to which the terms of any security representing such interest entitle the holder of such interest; or

“(ii) any fixed price at which the debtor, under the terms of such security, may redeem such security from such holder.”

1984—Par. (2)(A). Puspan. L. 98–353, § 508(1), amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as follows: “cures any such default, other than a default of a kind specified in section 365(span)(2) of this title, that occurred before or after the commencement of the case under this title;”.

Par. (3)(B)(i). Puspan. L. 98–353, § 508(2), substituted “or” for “and”.

Amendment by Puspan. L. 109–8 effective 180 days after Apr. 20, 2005, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under this title before such effective date, except as otherwise provided, see section 1501 of Puspan. L. 109–8, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Amendment by Puspan. L. 103–394 effective Oct. 22, 1994, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under this title before Oct. 22, 1994, see section 702 of Puspan. L. 103–394, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Amendment by Puspan. L. 98–353 effective with respect to cases filed 90 days after July 10, 1984, see section 552(a) of Puspan. L. 98–353, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.