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Bankruptcy Court Enforced 20-Year Old Orders Barring Asbestos Claims Against Insurance Company

By: Amanda Hoffman

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

In In re Johns-Manville Corporation, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York enforced orders it issued in 1986, confirming a plan (the “Plan”) of reorganization for Johns-Manville. Pursuant to the Plan, a settlement agreement was reached in which insurers contributed $770 million to a trust benefitting asbestos personal injury claimants. In exchange, the insurers of Johns-Manville, including long-time insurer Marsh USA (“Marsh”), were relieved of all liability related to their insurance of Johns-Manville and the insurers would be protected from claims via injunctive orders of the Bankruptcy Court. Marsh contributed $29.75 million to the trust in exchange for the injunction, which barred future claimants from bringing action against Marsh as an insurer of Johns-Manville. This settlement agreement was approved by the court, resulting in the court entering a confirmation order of the Plan (the “Confirmation Order), and an Insurance Settlement Order, together known as the “1986 Orders”. Under the 1986 Orders, Johns-Manville and its insurers were released from further liability, but present and future claimants could claim against the trust. Part of the settlement agreement included the appointment of a legal representative by the Bankruptcy Court, in order to ensure the rights of future claimants.

Innocence is Required to Discharge a Debt Created by Agent’s Fraud

By: Arielle Cummings

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

With certain limited exceptions, an individual debtor may have his debts discharged in bankruptcy. Debts resulting from a debtor’s fraud, however, are generally not dischargeable. In In re Glenn, the United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit affirmed the lower court’s holding that if a debt is the result of fraud, the court can discharge the debt in bankruptcy if the debtor was not complicit in the fraud and that the court can still discharge the debt even if the fraud was created by the debtor’s agent, provided, again, that the debtor was not complicit in it. In Glenn, the defendants, the Glenns, asked a loan broker, Karen Chung to get them a short-term “bridge” loan of $250,000. Chung told the Glenns that a bank had agreed to give the Glenns a $1 million line of credit, but that the line for credit would not be available for a few weeks—hence the need for the “bridge” loan. Brian Sullivan, a lawyer and friend of Chung, agreed to lend the Glenns the $250,000. The loan was never repaid and the $1 million line of credit was never approved because Chung never applied for it in the first place. The Glenns declared bankruptcy and the lower court found that neither of the Glenns had committed fraud and refused to impute Chung’s fraud to either of them under an agency theory. The court granted the Glenn’s discharge. The court reasoned that “[p]roof that a debtor’s agent obtains money by fraud does not justify the denial of discharge to the debtor, unless it is accompanied by proof which demonstrates or justifies an inference that the debtor knew or should have known of the fraud.”

Malpractice Claims Arising Before Chapter 7 Conversion Belong to Bankruptcy Estate

By: Anna Chen

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

In Cantu v. Schmidt (In Re Cantu), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that malpractice claims that arise during chapter 11 reorganization but before chapter 7 liquidation belong to the bankruptcy estate. In Cantu, the debtors, the Cantus, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The debtors hired an attorney, Ellen Stone, to represent them in the bankruptcy case. Upon the request of a group of creditors, the bankruptcy court converted the debtors’ chapter 11 case to chapter 7 and a trustee was appointed. Following conversion, the creditors filed a complaint seeking a judgment declaring that the debtors’ debts were not dischargeable. After a two-day trial, the bankruptcy court determined that the debtors’ debts would not be discharged. The court pointed out a number of “omissions, misstatements, and controversies” that plagued the chapter 11 bankruptcy, such as the Cantus’ failure to disclose significant assets and transactions, an improper transfer of $50,000 of what would have been estate property to a close friend during the bankruptcy case, and the Cantus’ lack of cooperation with the court and trustee. A few years later, the Cantus hired an attorney to investigate a possible legal malpractice claim against Stone for her representation during the Cantus’ bankruptcy. The trustee informed the new counsel that he believed the claims against Stone were “property of the estate and under the trustee’s sole authority to prosecute.” The bankruptcy court agreed with the trustee and authorized him to investigate the legal malpractice claims. After conducting his investigation, the trustee filed a malpractice suit against Stone in state court. After removal to federal court, Stone and the trustee settled for $281,710.54. The district court referred the case to the bankruptcy court to determine whether the settlement proceeds belonged to the debtors or the bankruptcy estate. The bankruptcy court held that the settlement proceeds belonged to the estate. On appeal, the district court and the Fifth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s decision, holding that the proceeds belonged to the debtors’ estate.

Yet Again, the Tenth Circuit Rejects a Bankruptcy Trustee’s Attempt to Avoid a Mortgage Under a “Splitting-the-Note” Theory

By: Alana Friedberg

St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

Recently, in Royal v. First Interstate Bank (In re Trierweiler), the Tenth Circuit held that a mortgage granted in favor of the private electronic database Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”), which records transfers of notes and mortgages, was enforceable as to a bankruptcy trustee even though the promissory note was held by a third-party. In Trierweiler, the debtors took out a loan from and granted a mortgage to First Interstate Bank (“First Interstate”) in order to purchase real property. The mortgage identified First Interstate as the “lender,” and MERS as both the “mortgagee” and the “nominee for the lender and lender’s successors and assigns.” Sometime thereafter, First Interstate assigned the note to Fannie Mae, but remained as the servicer for the loan. The debtors subsequently defaulted on the loan and filed for bankruptcy under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. The chapter 7 trustee then sought to avoid the mortgage, using his “strong arm” powers under section 544(a). In particular, the chapter 7 trustee claimed that MERS “was powerless to foreclose on the property” because it did not hold the note and instead was merely the mortgagee. The trustee also claimed that while Fannie Mae held the note, it “had no ability to enforce the mortgage because it was not listed as the mortgagee in the land records . . . .” Therefore, the trustee asserted that this “combination rendered the mortgage unenforceable and void as to [him].” The bankruptcy court, however, rejected the trustee’s arguments and ruled that the mortgage was a properly recorded and enforceable security interest that could not be avoided in bankruptcy.[13] On appeal, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Tenth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit both affirmed.

Same-Sex Couple Deemed “Spouses” for Purposes of the Bankruptcy Code

By: Michael Rich

St John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

Recently, in In Re Matson, the court held that a same-sex couple who filed for bankruptcy as joint debtors were “spouses” for the purpose of the Bankruptcy Code even though the petition was filed in a state that did not recognize their same-sex marriage. In Matson, the debtors were legally married in Iowa but resided in Wisconsin, which does not recognize same-sex marriages. Upon the filing of the case, a creditor moved to dismiss the bankruptcy case or, in the alternative, to bifurcate the case. The creditor argued that a joint bankruptcy case could only be commenced “by an individual that may be a debtor under such chapters and such individual’s spouse.” Further, the creditor claimed that “the definition of marriage and the regulation of marriage . . . has been treated as being within the authority and realm of the separate States.” Thus, the creditor argued that since Wisconsin did not permit or recognize same sex marriages, the debtors should not be deemed “spouses” for the purpose of a joint bankruptcy petition. In the response, the debtors relied on the Supreme Court’s holding that the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a union between one man and one women, was unconstitutional because it “violate[d] basic due process and equal protection principles applicable to the Federal Government.” In particular, the debtors argued that following Windsor, the definition of marriage could no longer be restricted to “a union between one man and one woman.” Therefore, the debtors claimed that Wisconsin did not have the authority to deny a lawfully wedded couple any federal benefits, which would include same-sex couples right to file as spouses in a joint bankruptcy case. Ultimately, the Matson court denied the creditor’s motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, bifurcate the case because the court found that it was required to give full faith and credit to the Iowa marriage.