Third Circuit Confirms Triangular Setoffs Unenforceable in Bankruptcy

The Third Circuit’s recent decision in In re Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., 990 F.3d 748 (3d Cir. 2021) holds that section 553 of the Bankruptcy Code, which governs creditor setoffs, requires “strict bilateral mutuality.” As a result, notwithstanding the parties’ contract, a creditor cannot set off an obligation it owes to a debtor in bankruptcy against an obligation that the debtor owes to the creditor’s affiliate (a so-called triangular setoff.)......
By: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

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