Rochellel's Daily Wire

July 15, 2021

Fees Benefiting Only the Debtor — and Not the Estate — Are Compensable in Chapter 13

Section 330(a)(4)(B) is an exception to the American Rule and the notion that administrative expenses must benefit the estate, not just the debtor.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Northern District

July 12, 2021

Liquidating a Defunct Corporation Qualifies for the SBRA, Judge Lopez Says

Increasingly, courts are allowing defunct corporations to proceed under the SBRA while individual owners of defunct businesses aren’t being treated as small business debtors in chapter 11.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Southern District

May 14, 2021

NRA’s Bankruptcy Dismissed as Being Filed for an Improper Purpose

Filing bankruptcy to gain a ‘litigation advantage’ in the N.Y. Attorney General’s dissolution action meant the chapter 11 petition was not filed in good faith and must be dismissed, Judge Harlan Hale rules.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Northern District

May 04, 2021

Once Repudiated, a Contract Is No Longer Executory

Courts disagree on whether a repudiated contract remains executory.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Southern District

April 09, 2021

Judge Isgur Knocks Down a Special Counsel’s Fees for ‘Unprofessional’ Conduct

Incivility may be acceptable in matrimonial matters, but not when the lawyer represents a debtor.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Southern District

April 05, 2021

Filing a Timely Extension Motion Won’t Extend a Deadline Without an Order

Creditors’ lawyers shot themselves in the foot by having the bankruptcy judge moot a motion for an extension of the dischargeability deadline.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Western District

March 12, 2021

Trustees Don’t Need a Pecuniary Interest to Have Standing to Appeal, Fifth Circuit Says

Fee allowances aren’t made with the benefit of hindsight, the Fifth Circuit says.

5th Circuit

March 11, 2021

Reverse Contingencies Are Permissible in Bankruptcy Cases, Judge Olack Says

Compensation in a bankruptcy case can be based on savings to the estate, not only on cash recoveries by the estate.

5th Circuit, Mississippi, Mississippi Southern District

March 08, 2021

Split Grows on Whether a Subchapter V Debtor Must Be ‘Currently’ Engaged in Business

The owner of defunct businesses was held ineligible to be a small business debtor because he was no longer the owner of an operating business. Being a non-owner executive of an operating business didn’t qualify him.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Northern District

February 25, 2021

To Invoke Equitable or Statutory Mootness, the Record Must Be Clear that a Sale Closed

Unsubstantiated statements that a sale closed didn’t persuade a district judge in Dallas to invoke equitable or statutory mootness.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Northern District