April 10, 2023

There’s Peril in Issuing a Report and Recommendation When It’s Not Necessary

Fourth Circuit opinion shows how abstention is a powerful tool that insulates an erroneous decision from appellate review.

4th Circuit

April 07, 2023

Later Developments Don’t Undo Subchapter V Eligibility, Houston Judge Says

In the Alex Jones corporate Subchapter V case, Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said that the later chapter 11 filing by Jones himself, with about $1.5 billion in debt, didn’t kick the corporate debtor out of Subchapter V and into ‘ordinary’ chapter 11.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Southern District

April 06, 2023

Delaware Judge Explores the Theories Behind ‘Opt-In’ and ‘Opt-Out’ Chapter 11 Plans

Peculiar circumstance compelled a Delaware judge to depart from his usual approval of ‘opt-out’ plans that grant non-debtor releases.

3rd Circuit, Delaware

April 05, 2023

Rebuffed in Bankruptcy Court, the Government Wins a Stay of Voyager’s Confirmation

The U.S. Attorney argued in district court that the Voyager plan would bar the government from enforcing federal regulations and criminal laws.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern District

April 04, 2023

Delaware and New York District Courts Split on Permissibility of Non-Debtor Releases

Upholding confirmation of the Boy Scouts’ chapter 11 plan, the district judge in Delaware disagreed with his counterpart in New York who found no statutory power to impose non-consensual, non-debtor third-party releases.

3rd Circuit, Delaware

April 03, 2023

‘Person Aggrieved’ for Appellate Standing Test May Have Died, but May Be Resurrected

Sixth Circuit judges wrote 17 pages of dicta to muse on whether the ‘person aggrieved’ test for appellate standing died with the adoption of the Bankruptcy Code but remains good law under the ‘zone-of-interests’ test.

6th Circuit

March 31, 2023

$400,000 in Sanctions Upheld for Violation of a Confidentiality Order

A large sanction was civil, not criminal, because it was designed for deterrence.

5th Circuit, Louisiana, Louisiana Eastern District

March 28, 2023

Ninth Circuit BAP Rules on a Question to Be Decided Soon by the Supreme Court

Like the question in MOAC to be decided soon by the Supreme Court, the BAP says that the qualifications for an involuntary petitioner are not jurisdictional and can be waived.

9th Circuit

March 23, 2023

Here’s How a Disclaimed Inheritance Can Be Recovered Under Section 544(b)

Although a disclaimed inheritance is ordinarily beyond the avoiding powers, a trustee can step into the shoes of the IRS to set aside the disclaimer.

7th Circuit, Illinois, Illinois Southern District

March 16, 2023

Limited Partnership Agreement Is an Estate Asset, Not an Executory Contract

Because a limited partner’s obligations were only ‘options,’ the partnership agreement was not an executory contract, Chief Judge Meier says.

9th Circuit, Idaho