Ryan Messina

Ryan M. Messina

Associate

Ryan M. Messina

Associate

  • Overview

    Biography

    Ryan M. Messina is an associate in the firm’s Bankruptcy + Reorganizations Group. His work encompasses assisting in the representations of debtors, committees and creditors in Chapter 11 reorganizations in bankruptcy proceedings and out-of-court workouts. Ryan also is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

    During law school, Ryan served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Paul R. Wallace, of the Delaware Superior Court. He was selected as the 2020 William Prickett Corporate & Business Law award recipient and was recognized by The American Bankruptcy Law Journal for having earned the highest grade in a bankruptcy class at an ABA accredited United States law school.

     

  • NEWS + PRESS
    • Publications

      Publications

      "Is the ACA Penalty Entitled to Priority Treatment as a Tax Under the Bankruptcy Code?" co-authored with Andrew A. DePeau, published as a Consumer Corner piece in the October 2022 issue of the ABI Journal (October 2022)
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        • Is the ACA Penalty Entitled to Priority Treatment as a Tax Under the Bankruptcy Code?

        "Is the ACA Penalty Entitled to Priority Treatment as a Tax Under the Bankruptcy Code?" co-authored by Ryan M. Messina and Andrew A. DePeau, published as a Consumer Corner piece in the October 2022 issue of the ABI Journal (October 2022)

        The article addresses the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed into law on March 23, 2010. The ACA requires certain individuals to maintain a “minimal essen­tial [health insurance] coverage” throughout the year, known as the “individual mandate.” A person sub­ject to the mandate who fails to main­tain the required insurance for one month or more is assessed a “shared responsibility payment.” The article focuses on several federal court decisions, including from the U.S. Supreme Court as well as contradictory rulings from the Third and Fifth Circuit Courts, that ana­lyzed whether the shared-responsibility payment is a tax under the Bankruptcy Code and, if so, whether such payments qualify for priority treatment. The authors conclude that “(w)hile the ACA no longer imposes a shared-respon­sibility payment, practitioners would be well-served to main­tain an awareness of the various factors that courts consider in determining the priority treatment of government claims.” Read the article here.


      "The Rising Trend in Administrative Claimants Programs Leading to “Agreement” to a Lesser Treatment in Major Retail Cases," co-authored with James F. Lathrop, National Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Volume 30, Issue 6 (December 2021)

      "Does Federal Common Law Define a Business Trust’s Eligibility for Chapter 11?" co-authored with Katherine M. Fix, published in the October 2021 edition of the ABI Journal

      "Pressed for Time: A Real Estate Purchaser's Right to Invoke Section 108(B) to Extend The Time for Performance When the Contract Provides That Time is of the Essence," co-authored with Andrew A. DePeau, published in the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice (December 2020)
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        • Pressed for Time: A Real Estate Purchaser's Right to Invoke Section 108(B) to Extend The Time for Performance When the Contract Provides That Time is of the Essence

        "Pressed for Time: A Real Estate Purchaser's Right to Invoke Section 108(B) to Extend The Time for Performance When the Contract Provides That Time is of the Essence," co-authored by Ryan M. Messina and Andrew A. DePeau, published in the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice (December 2020)

        Andrew DePeau and Ryan Messina authored the article examining three judicial decisions issued by bankruptcy courts within the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, analyzing the impact of Section 108(b) of the United States Code on the rights of contract counterparties if a business transaction is unable to be consummated and a purchaser seeks relief under Title 11 of the Code.


      "Section 510 — Subordination, Recent Developments," co-authored with Andrew A. DePeau and Patrick M. Birney, which was published in the Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law. (August 2020)
      • » more info

        • Section 510 — Subordination, Recent Developments

        "Section 510 — Subordination, Recent Developments," co-authored by Ryan M. Messina, Andrew A. DePeau and Patrick M. Birney, which was published in the Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law. (August 2020)

        Patrick Birney, Andrew DePeau and Ryan Messina authored an article on Bankruptcy Code Section 510, which examined recent developments in Subordination, in areas including Subordination Agreements, Rescission Claims, and various aspects of Equitable Subordination.


    • News

      R+C in the News

      • October 20, 2022

        Andrew DePeau and Ryan Messina Author ABI Journal Article on ACA “Penalty” and the Bankruptcy Code

        • » more info

          Andrew DePeau and Ryan Messina Author ABI Journal Article on ACA “Penalty” and the Bankruptcy Code

          Bankruptcy + Reorganizations Group members, Andrew DePeau and Ryan Messina, authored the article “Is the ACA Penalty Entitled to Priority Treatment as a Tax Under the Bankruptcy Code?,” published as a Consumer Corner piece in the October 2022 issue of the ABI Journal. The article addresses the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed into law on March 23, 2010. The ACA requires certain individuals to maintain a “minimal essen­tial [health insurance] coverage” throughout the year, known as the “individual mandate.” A person sub­ject to the mandate who fails to main­tain the required insurance for one month or more is assessed a “shared responsibility payment.” Andrew and Ryan write that “although described by the statute as a ‘penalty,’ the payment is collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) along with one’s federal income tax return and shares many other features of a ‘tax.’ Whether the payment is a penalty or a tax remains a hotly contested issue, and the answer dif­fers depending on the type of analysis.” The article focuses on several federal court decisions, including from the U.S. Supreme Court as well as contradictory rulings from the Third and Fifth Circuit Courts, that ana­lyzed whether the shared-responsibility payment is a tax under the Bankruptcy Code and, if so, whether such payments qualify for priority treatment. The authors conclude that “(w)hile the ACA no longer imposes a shared-respon­sibility payment, practitioners would be well-served to main­tain an awareness of the various factors that courts consider in determining the priority treatment of government claims.” Read the article here.

      • October 11, 2021

        Katherine Fix and Ryan Messina Author Article on Business Trusts’ Eligibility for Chapter 11 Published in ABI Journal

        • » more info

          Katherine Fix and Ryan Messina Author Article on Business Trusts’ Eligibility for Chapter 11 Published in ABI Journal

          Bankruptcy + Reorganizations Group lawyers Katherine M. Fix and Ryan M. Messina authored the article “Does Federal Common Law Define a Business Trust’s Eligibility for Chapter 11?” published in the October 2021 issue of the ABI Journal, the member publication of the American Bankruptcy Institute. Featured in the Journal’s “On the Edge” column, the article focuses on how courts have struggled to determine whether an entity is a “business trust” that is eligible to be a “debtor” under the Bankruptcy Code-the crux of which arises from the Code’s failure to define what a business trust is within the context of bankruptcy. Katherine and Ryan provide a history of business trusts in the bankruptcy code; examine the split of authority that exists as to which law governs: the law of the jurisdiction in which the trust resides, or federal common law; and offer insights into how a recent Delaware Bankruptcy Court decision regarding an offshore real estate investment trust may become the new standard. Read the full article.

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      • November 5, 2020

        Robinson+Cole Welcomes Fall Class