News

In 2024, the Nevada Supreme Court reviewed the case Ene v. Graham, which has become a significant point of discussion in the legal community regarding personal injury liability, the concept of “alter ego,” and corporate protections.  546 P.3d 1232 (2024).  The case...

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool that can revolutionize the way bankruptcy attorneys operate. AI technologies have the potential to streamline processes, enhance accuracy, and provide invaluable...

Introduction This memorandum addresses the reversal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit of a $78.75 million attorney fee award in the T-Mobile data breach litigation. The primary issue is the reasonableness of the fee, particularly the use of...

For those vintage enough to remember, “Video Killed the Radio Star” was released by a little-known band called The Buggles way back in 1979.  The hypnotic anthem, which incidentally sounded like it was mixed using telephone audio, was a cautionary tale of how emerging...

Introduction In recent years, the concept of the metaverse has transitioned from science fiction to a tangible reality. With the convergence of virtual reality, augmented reality, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence, the metaverse represents a new...

Bankruptcy statistics from the American Bankruptcy Institute show Bankruptcy filings from all bankruptcy filings totaled 35,479 in the month of April 2023, this includes business and non-business filings. This is a 9 % increase from the 32,530 overall filings in April...

On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court affirmed a decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Ninth Circuit”) in the case of Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 860 Fed. Appx. 544 (Feb. 22, 2023) and held that debts obtained through fraud cannot be...

United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit Holds That Unimpaired Creditors Must Receive Contract Or State Law Default Interest On Their Allowed Claims (Essentially) As A Matter Of Absolute Priority At first blush, the decision of the United States Court of...

Depositions are an important part of the discovery process in civil litigation. They are the only opportunity provided to attorneys in litigation to question and elicit testimony on the record prior to trial. Not so long ago the norm for the taking of depositions was...

One of the requirements for confirmation of a Chapter 11 reorganization plan by bankruptcy courts is that “any governmental regulatory commission with jurisdiction, after confirmation of the plan, over the rates of the debtor has approved any rate change provided for...

It is not an uncommontrope in media for a protagonist to split themselves into separate beings: goodand bad. In Robert LouisStevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekylltakes a serum and transforms himself into Mr. Hyde. He does this to indulge...

On February 16, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case of In re Royal Street Bistro, L.L.C., 2022 WL 499938 (5th Cir. Feb. 16, 2022), in reaching an outcome in line with two other circuit courts, the Seventh Circuit and the Ninth...

InsurersBeware: Recent Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Limits Ability ofInsurance Companies to Lift Automatic Stay for “Defensive Actions”              On November 16, 2021, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals...

Bankruptcy trustees, as well as bankruptcy attorneys, should heed the precautionary lessons learned in Carickhoff v. Goodwin (In re Decade SAC LLC), 19-50095 (Bankr. D.Del. Dec. 27, 2021). In Goodwin, the bankruptcy estate ended up with a worst-case outcome for its...

Until recently, courts have provided only a cursory analysis on whether debt arising from a violation of a Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (“PACA”) trust is non dischargeable. Whether you are a business owner or bankruptcy attorney, this lack of guidance has...

Bankruptcy Judge Scott C. Clarkson of the Central District of California recently issued an Order admonishing an attorney for plagiarism.  In In re Summit Financial, Inc., an attorney copied and pasted disclaimers from four unrelated cases from unrelated firms...

During these unpredictable times, COVID-19 seems to have impacted virtually every sector of the U.S. economy; from the unemployment rate, to the U.S. gross domestic product, and even at times the grocery aisles and gas stations.  With the uncertainties of...

On September 16, 2021, the Nevada Supreme Court, sitting en banc, issued its opinion in the case of Superpumper, Inc. et al. v. Leonard, 137 Nev. Adv. Op. 43 (Sept. 2021), holding that Nevada state district courts have concurrent subject matter jurisdiction with...

Dates matter in bankruptcy. After the bar date, no one can file claims against the debtor (unless they qualify for an exception). The Third Circuit in Ellis v. Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, (2021), however, recently considered the question about what happens...

On August 30, 2021, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard an appeal in one of the longest-lasting Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme cases. In the appeal, the trustee for the Madoff bankruptcy estate (the “Trustee”) claimed that the District Court used the wrong standard...

Bankruptcy practitioners have been anecdotally aware of the increased presence of so-called “bankruptcy directors” in Chapter 11 cases over the last decade. Three academics, however, recently released a seminal working paper containing the first empirical study on the...

The landmark commercial bankruptcy case Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp. (2017), as originally filed in 2008, made bankruptcy case law by holding that a structured Chapter 11 settlement may not include distribution to creditors in violation of the priorities in...

On April 8th, the Small Business Administration issued a Second Notice to lenders regarding an important modification made to the March 30, 2021 SBA Procedural Notice 5000-20074 and SBA Forms 3506, 3507, and 750.The modification contains a key restriction, “which...

While a defendant in a bankruptcy adversary case cannot waive subject matter jurisdiction, a different set of rules apply in personal jurisdiction. Reynolds v. Behrman lays out some of the groundwork for understanding how these rules apply, offering crucial insight...

As recently reported by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), the Supreme Court is weighing in on whether to grant or deny a petition for certiorari that challenges the Second Circuit's decision in In re Tribune Company Fraudulent Conveyance Litig (“Tribune”). (2nd...

As recently reported by the American Bankruptcy Institute, an Eleventh Circuit decision regarding derivative jurisdiction, in relation to subject matter jurisdiction, has created a circuit split. Circuit Judge Adalberto Jordan determined that a federal court can have...

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit clarified how creditors and lenders can exercise setoff rights during bankruptcy proceedings. ‌ The court ruled against drug distributor McKesson Corporation (“McKesson”) in its attempt to clear $6.9...

On February 2, 2021, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio issued a judgement on In re Horvath, a case in which Debtors reopened a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case ten years after the lien had originally been filed in order to avoid a renewed lien....

In a recent opinion, Judge Russ Kendig of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Ohio highlighted the importance of an attorney’s investigative obligations. He ruled that a debtor’s attempt to reopen bankruptcy proceedings for lien avoidance is prejudicial...

The February Monetary Policy Report sent to Congress by the Federal Reserve contained sobering news about commercial real estate. "Insolvency risks at small and medium-sized firms, as well as at some large firms, remain considerable,” the report concluded. It also...

The Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) was passed in 2019 to expedite the bankruptcy process for small business debtors and reduce costs. This act did not change existing chapter 11 provisions in the Bankruptcy Code, but rather it added new subchapter V terms...

On March 27, 2020, the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) with the authority to issue loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP.) Section 1102 of the law added context to...

In late 2020, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa clarified Section 506(b) of the Bankruptcy Code. The Court’s decision imposes the responsibility on lenders’ counsel to “exercise restraint” in billing judgments, suggesting that a creditors’...

When the bankruptcy process begins, Section 546(e) prevents debtors from avoiding securities settlement payments. In practice, this statute seeks to pre-empt fraudulent transfers that reduce an estate’s value during a chapter 11 case — but are eventually recovered by...

The Barton Doctrine dates back to an 1818 Supreme Court decision, dictating when a litigant can bring a lawsuit against an estate trustee. Throughout the 20th century, court rulings extended this coverage to include a range of fiduciaries granted authority by a...

In today's competitive market, even the most brilliant entrepreneurs may need to take drastic steps to preserve their financial health. Many look to bankruptcy as a viable solution but may be surprised to discover that this process can be very versatile and less...

Chapter 11 bankruptcy, most commonly used by corporate entities, involves the reorganization of a debtor’s business dealings, assets, and debts. Chapter 11 is perhaps the most complex form of bankruptcy under U.S. bankruptcy laws, so it makes sense that you might have...

Many small businesses across the country are struggling to survive the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. If your business is searching for options and time to turn around operations or develop new business lines, bankruptcy can create that space and...

Business bankruptcy might bring to mind bleak images of financial ruin that involve the loss of all valuable property. In reality, bankruptcy takes many forms—and in several situations, it’s a viable solution to the burden of debt that overshadows many business...

Businesses of all sizes and spanning a range of industries are suffering the economic fallout of COVID-19. This can be seen not only in layoffs and furloughs, but also in increased business closures and bankruptcies. A Bloomberg report published in early July revealed...

On October 14, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Court”) issued an opinion that addressed the timeframe for which debtors in bankruptcy can recover attorney’s fees for seeking damages for violations of the automatic stay. In a previous case, Sternberg v....

Student loan debt is at an all time high, but too many people’s surprise, it is helping the U.S.  Economy - according to a new report released by the White House Council of Economic Advisers. During times of high unemployment, enrollment in college typically...

On Wednesday, January 28, 2014, Delaware Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross ruled the reorganization of Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s largest operating unit will take place in Chicago.  Clearly, this is a major victory for the company.  A week prior, creditors in...

With their Chapter 11 reorganization plan approved and underway, corporate debtors recently contested an appeal of their final settlement agreement, citing the appeal’s equitable and statutory mootness. While District Judge Jane J. Boyle of the Fifth Circuit...

As recently reported by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) has issued a decision that explores “the fringes of the bankruptcy discharge injunction.” They provided meaning for “personal liability of the debtor”...