October 30, 2024
A Retirement Plan that’s Not ‘Tax-Qualified’ Is Still Excluded from Estate Property
Declining to create a circuit split, Third Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro held that a retirement plan structured according to ERISA is excluded from estate property even if transactions by the trust violated ERISA or IRS Code regulations.
3rd CircuitSeptember 18, 2024
Solvent Debtors in Chapter 11 Must Pay Make-Wholes, Third Circuit Says
The opinion by Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro reads Jevic as animating the solvent-debtor exception to the disallowance of unmatured interest.
3rd CircuitJuly 30, 2024
Dismissal of Second J&J Chapter 11 Filing Upheld by Return Mail in the Circuit
The ‘attenuated possibility of insolvency’ in the future does not establish ‘financial distress,’ Circuit Judge Ambro said, interpreting his own prior opinion.
3rd CircuitJanuary 31, 2023
Third Circuit Reverses and Dismisses J&J’s ‘Baby Powder’ Chapter 11 Case
Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro prohibits big companies from filing chapter 11 cases absent ‘financial distress.’
3rd CircuitDecember 29, 2022
Third Circuit Upholds Draconian Sanctions for Section 327 Nondisclosure
An opinion by Thomas Ambro shows how the Third Circuit won’t cut any slack for nonbankruptcy lawyers when it comes to retention disclosure.
3rd CircuitDecember 21, 2022
Failure to Exercise a Purchase Option Is Not a Transfer, Third Circuit Says
The failure to convert a contingent interest into ownership is not a transfer that could be avoided as a fraudulent transfer.
3rd CircuitSeptember 01, 2022
Bankruptcy Courts Always Have Post-Confirmation Jurisdiction for ‘Core’ Matters
The Third Circuit opinion by Thomas Ambro explained that the ‘close nexus’ test does not apply when a post-conformation dispute is ‘core’ or entails enforcing a court order.
3rd CircuitJune 03, 2022
Judge Ambro Explains the Primacy of Section 327(a) over State Ethics Rules
Absent an ‘actual conflict,’ disqualification is not automatic, the Third Circuit says.
3rd CircuitSeptember 07, 2021
Chapter 11 Plans May Discharge Post-Confirmation ‘Admin’ Claims, Third Circuit Says
Although Section 1141(d)(1) sets a default rule only discharging claims that arose before confirmation, Circuit Judge Ambro says that a plan may alter the default rule and allow discharge of administrative claims arising after confirmation.
3rd CircuitMay 28, 2021
Third Circuit Finds Broad Waiver of Sovereign Immunity for Suits Augmenting the Estate
Circuit Judge Ambro generously interprets Katz to mean that ratification of the Constitution waived state sovereign immunity broadly for suits to augment a bankrupt estate.
3rd Circuit