June 16, 2025

Plan Didn’t Extinguish Debts, Only Discharged Them, Fifth Circuit Says

A plan saying that it satisfies and settles claims does nothing more than discharge the claims. It doesn’t extinguish the claims, the Fifth Circuit says.

5th Circuit

June 03, 2025

Like 18th Century England, There’s No Jury Trial Right for Stay Violations

Granfinanciera tells us to study English law from the 18th century in deciding when there’s a right to a jury trial in bankruptcy cases.

9th Circuit, Washington, Washington Western District

May 29, 2025

Judge Furay Sides with the Minority on Stay Termination After a Repeat Filing

Courts are divided on whether automatic stay termination in Section 362(c)(3) applies to property of the debtor’s estate.

7th Circuit, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Western District

May 22, 2025

Two Courts Hold: Injunctions Are Ok to Protect Nondebtors for the Life of a Plan

Judge Meredith Grabill of New Orleans agreed with New York’s Judge Mastando that a Subchapter V plan can enjoin lawsuits against nondebtors for the life of a three-year plan.

5th Circuit, Louisiana, Louisiana Eastern District

May 20, 2025

The ‘Dissent’ in Boy Scouts Favored Using Equitable Mootness to Uphold Nondebtor Releases

The circuit courts are diverging on the utility of equitable mootness to avoid reversing confirmation of chapter 11 plans.

3rd Circuit

May 19, 2025

As to Appealing Insurers, the Boy Scouts Plan Was Not Equitably Moot

Holding $1.4 billion in escrow did not preclude invocation of equitable mootness, Third Circuit majority says.

3rd Circuit

May 16, 2025

Third Circuit Upholds Boy Scouts’ Nonconsensual Releases, Purdue Notwithstanding

The Third Circuit majority upheld nondebtor, nonconsensual releases because they were part of a sale, making the appeal statutorily moot under Section 363(m).

3rd Circuit

May 12, 2025

The ‘Domestic Violence’ Stay Exception Applies to Sexual Violence Decades Earlier

Bankruptcy Judge Robert Mark held that the Section 362(b)(2)(A)(v) exception to the automatic stay covers more than imminent or ongoing sexual abuse.

11th Circuit, Florida, Florida Southern District

April 03, 2025

Third J&J Filing Dismissed on Grounds Different from the First Two Dismissals

Houston’s Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez decided that the newest plan by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary didn’t qualify for nondebtor releases permissible in asbestos cases.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Southern District

April 02, 2025

A Contempt Sanction Is Not a ‘Money Judgment’ and Doesn’t Require Writ of Execution

A contempt sanction upholds the integrity of the court and doesn’t invoke Rule 69(a).

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern District