May 24, 2023
Find and Fix the Flaws in Appraisals Before They Are Subjected to Cross Examination
An appraisal was rejected entirely as being ‘inherently unreliable’ when it gave the client the value that the client wanted.
9th Circuit, California, California Eastern DistrictMay 23, 2023
Bankruptcy Judges Agree: Later Developments Don’t Undo Subchapter V Eligibility
The $7.5 million debt cap for Subchapter V doesn’t include the debt of affiliates who file later.
4th Circuit, Virginia, Virginia Western DistrictMay 22, 2023
New York Court Holds: Claims for Electricity Don’t Get Priority Under Section 503(b)(9)
Courts are divided on whether electricity supplied within 20 days of bankruptcy gives rise to an administrative priority claim.
2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern DistrictMay 19, 2023
Bifurcated Fee Arrangements Now Seem Impossible in South Carolina
Affirming the bankruptcy court, the district court found that bifurcated fees are excessive and that inadequate disclosures violated Sections 526 and 528.
4th Circuit, South CarolinaMay 18, 2023
Seventh Circuit to Rule on Paying ‘13’ Trustees if Dismissal Precedes Confirmation
Within the next year, four circuits will have ruled on a split where some lower courts pay chapter 13 trustees and others don’t when dismissal precedes confirmation.
7th Circuit, Illinois, Illinois Northern DistrictMay 17, 2023
Supreme Court Holds that PROMESA Didn’t Waive Puerto Rico’s Sovereign Immunity
The Supreme Court ducked the question of whether Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories are entitled to Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity just like states.
Supreme CourtMay 16, 2023
Section 546(g)'s Safe Harbor Doesn’t Apply in an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors
A federal district judge in New York holds that the safe harbor in Section 546(g) doesn’t preempt state fraudulent transfer laws.
2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern DistrictMay 15, 2023
‘Person Aggrieved’ Isn’t the Proper Standard for Bankruptcy Appeals, Circuit Says
Ninth Circuit says that the ‘person aggrieved’ standard for appellate standing was superseded by Article III standing on adoption of the Bankruptcy Code in 1978.
9th CircuitMay 12, 2023
Courts May Bypass Equitable Mootness to Rule on the Merits, Fifth Circuit Says
Even if an appeal is equitably moot, the appellate court nonetheless has appellate jurisdiction. Equitable mootness is prudential, not jurisdictional.
5th CircuitMay 11, 2023
Student Loans Didn’t Qualify as Commercial Debt for Sub V Eligibility
The business debt necessary to qualify for Subchapter V need not to have arisen from the debtor’s business at the time of filing, Bankruptcy Judge Meier says.
9th Circuit, Idaho