We’ll Start (Me) Up this alert with a question we regularly get from our clients: how far can a lender go in enforcing loan agreements against defaulted borrowers (see, for example, our January 26, 2022 alert Bankruptcy Court Ruling Imposes Lender Liability). While lenders sometimes (Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, courts generally grant them very broad discretion to enforce remedies or exercise contractual rights, even where it may harm a borrower. On March 29, 2023, the Sixth Circuit continued that trend, upholding a district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Goldman Sachs, in which real estate developer BNA Associates alleged that the court should have no Sympathy for the Devil, because Goldman Sachs had improperly refused to consent to Ruby Tuesday’s attempted sale of a lease to BNA (no word on whether Goldman wanted to Paint It Black). The court was unfazed by Goldman Sachs’ seemingly hardball tactics to veto the sale despite being offered the full value of the lease, and emphasized the rights of lenders to rely upon the powers afforded to them under their contracts to engage in fair competition. The decision is a reminder that while You Can’t Always Get What You Want, courts give lenders wide latitude when enforcing their bargained-for contractual rights.

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