How US courts deal with a foreign case
Cross-border insolvency in the United States mostly runs through Chapter 15, under which the representative of a foreign insolvency proceeding asks a US bankruptcy court for recognition. Once recognized, the foreign case can reach US assets, stop US litigation, and seek enforcement of foreign orders, subject to protections for US interests. Whether the foreign case is treated as a main proceeding, tied to where the debtor's center of main interests lies, affects which relief follows automatically. A foreign company with property in the United States can also file a full Chapter 11 case here, and some do so to use US restructuring tools.
When the foreign debtor owes you
If a foreign counterparty is in an insolvency proceeding, the first question is whether that case has been or will be recognized here, because recognition can halt your US lawsuit or attachment. Claims may need to be filed in the foreign proceeding under its own rules, deadlines, and language requirements, and missing that process can matter more than anything filed in the United States. Contract terms choosing New York law and New York courts are relevant but do not always prevent a foreign plan from being given effect here. Gather the contracts, invoices, any guarantees or collateral, and notices from the foreign administrator, with translations where needed.
Coordinating across legal systems
Parallel proceedings require coordination between a foreign case, a US case, and sometimes a third forum where assets sit. Courts often communicate under agreed protocols, and outcomes can depend on choices made early, such as where to file first or how assets are held. For Korean companies and their US counterparties, the interaction between Korean rehabilitation proceedings and US recognition comes up regularly. In a first meeting we identify the proceedings that exist or are likely, where the assets and claims sit, and which court's timetable needs attention first.
