January 07, 2021

Dissolved Corporation May Not File to Reorganize in Chapter 11, Only to Liquidate

Dissolved by forfeit, a corporation cannot reinstate a charter and may resort to bankruptcy only to liquidate, Judge Eduardo Rodriguez says.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Southern District

January 06, 2021

Ponzi-Schemer’s Assistant Liable Under UFTA Even Without Knowledge of Fraud

Providing a necessary service for a Ponzi-schemer was enough to make an employee liable to return compensation as a fraudulent transfer.

10th Circuit, Utah

January 04, 2021

Safe Harbor Bars Foreign Liquidators from Recovering Money Stolen in the U.S.

Another opinion shows that Congress wrote Section 546(e) in a manner that goes far beyond protecting the securities markets in the U.S.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern District

December 30, 2020

Follow the Rules or Lose an Exemption in a New Home While in Chapter 13

Chapter 13 debtors lost an exemption in a new home after converting to chapter 7 because they didn’t follow the rules.

11th Circuit, Florida, Florida Southern District

December 29, 2020

Eleventh Circuit Bans Chapter 11 Debtors from Receiving ‘PPP’ Loans

The Eleventh Circuit decided that the SBA acted within its rulemaking power by precluding chapter 11 debtors from receiving PPP loans under the CARES Act.

11th Circuit

December 28, 2020

Absent a Stay, Making Plan Payments for Two Years Renders an Appeal Equitably Moot

In the First Circuit, transferring the business or assets isn’t required before confirmation is equitably moot.

1st Circuit

December 23, 2020

Automatic Stay Applies Automatically to the Archbishop of a Bankrupt Archdiocese

Although a lawsuit against the archbishop violated the automatic stay, Judge Thuma of Albuquerque declined to impose sanctions because precedent was ‘spotty or nonexistent.’

10th Circuit, New Mexico

December 22, 2020

Statement of Profitability Must Be in Writing to Underpin a Nondischargeability Claim

A statement about the profitability of a corporation the debtor owns is a statement about the debtor’s own financial condition, the Fifth Circuit says.

5th Circuit

December 21, 2020

Circuit Whacks a Bankruptcy Lawyer with Sanctions for a Brief ‘Littered’ with ‘Rants’

Eleventh Circuit hits an attorney for a brief citing Bugs Bunny rather than caselaw authority.

11th Circuit

December 18, 2020

Madoff Trustee Wins Prejudgment Interest from ‘Net Winner’ Who Didn’t Settle

By continuing to litigate for 10 years on a lost cause, prejudgment interest will ‘up’ a fraudulent transfer defendant’s liability by 40%.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern District