August 20, 2020

Bankruptcy Court Alone May Decide Whether a Claim Is Estate Property, BAP Says

Bankruptcy Court Alone May Decide Whether a Claim Is Estate Property, BAP Says

10th Circuit

August 05, 2020

Ninth Circuit Says Assumption Under Section 365(p) Doesn’t Also Require Reaffirmation

Lease assumption is binding even if the debtor doesn’t follow the procedural requirements of Section 365(p).

9th Circuit

July 20, 2020

Creditor Socked with $41,000 in Sanctions for Filing Trumped-Up Criminal Charges

Bankruptcy Judge Warren makes sure the sanctions won’t be dischargeable if the offending creditor files his own bankruptcy.

4th Circuit, North Carolina, North Carolina Eastern District

July 15, 2020

Fines for Defrauding Consumers Are Dischargeable in a Corporate Chapter 11 Plan

Courts are divided on discharging fines in a corporate chapter 11 case when the government itself was not defrauded.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern District

July 09, 2020

Seventh Circuit Requires Court Findings for a Plan Provision the Code Allows

The Seventh Circuit opinion raises the question of whether (or when) a court may restrict the use of a provision in a chapter 13 plan that Section 1322(b) permits.

7th Circuit

July 01, 2020

The Ninth Circuit and the BAP Draw Opposite Conclusions from the Same Testimony

For the circuit court, scant evidence is enough to uphold the trial court’s findings of fact.

9th Circuit

June 30, 2020

Saving a Failing Company Doesn’t Entail ‘Defalcation’ Regarding Union Obligations

A properly drafted union contract still failed to leave a company officer with a nondischargeable debt for failing to make employer contributions to a union welfare fund.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Eastern District

June 26, 2020

No Contempt for the IRS on Discharge Without Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

Is Taggart just a defense that can be waived, or must a debtor plead and prove ‘no objectively reasonable basis’ in a motion for contempt of discharge?

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern District

June 19, 2020

Second Circuit Nixes Nationwide Class Actions for Discharge Violations

Second Circuit says that later Supreme Court authority did not undermine the appeals court’s prior decision that creditors cannot compel arbitration of discharge violations.

2nd Circuit

June 16, 2020

Ninth Circuit Criticizes the Supreme Court’s Kelly v. Robinson

Discovery sanctions are dischargeable under Section 523(a)(7), even when incorporated into a bar disciplinary suspension.

9th Circuit