7 Collier on Bankruptcy P 1121.03

Summary

Section 1121(b) provides the debtor with its second basic right with respect to filing a chapter 11 plan. Subsection (b) provides that, until 120 days after the order for relief, only the debtor may file a chapter 11 plan.

This period is commonly referred to as the “exclusivity period.” The exclusivity period serves “to provide a debtor, at the outset of a chapter 11 case, with ‘the unqualified opportunity to negotiate a settlement and propose a plan of reorganization without interference from creditors and other interests.’ ”1 This 120-day period may be reduced or extended “for cause” by order of the court on a motion filed within the exclusivity period.2 However, section 1121(d)(2)(A) provides that the court may not extend this 120-day exclusive period beyond a date ...