November 04, 2022

Differences Between Judicial and Statutory Liens Explained by Judge Heston

Only judicial liens that impair exemptions may be avoided under Section 522(f)(1).

9th Circuit, Washington, Washington Western District

November 03, 2022

Courts Split on Whether Bankruptcy Discharges Future Liability on a Guarantee

Milwaukee district judge rules that bankruptcy does not cut off future liability on a personal guarantee issued before bankruptcy.

7th Circuit, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Eastern District

November 02, 2022

A Security Deposit Is an Unsecured Loan, Unless State Law or the Lease Says Otherwise

If a tenant’s security deposit was swept by the landlord’s secured creditor but was not held in trust, the tenant has no recourse other than to file an unsecured claim.

2nd Circuit, New York, New York Southern District

November 01, 2022

Madoff Fraud Makes More Law: The Safe Harbor’s Application to Foreign Liquidators

District judge holds that the safe harbor in Section 546(e) applies to lawsuits by foreign liquidators aiming to avoid transactions abroad under foreign law.

2nd Circuit, New York

October 27, 2022

Fifth Circuit Interprets Section 363(m) More Broadly than Other Circuits

Anything that is ‘integrally related’ to a sale is moot in the Fifth Circuit, according to a New Orleans district judge.

5th Circuit, Louisiana, Louisiana Eastern District

October 26, 2022

Sixth Circuit Holds that Tax Foreclosure Violates the Takings Clause of the Constitution

If tax foreclosures violate the Takings Clause, it stands to reason that they are also fraudulent transfers.

6th Circuit

October 25, 2022

A ‘Letter Box’ Company Is Denied Foreign Main and Nonmain Recognition in Chapter 15

Being registered, plus having directors and an address, on the Isle of Man wasn’t sufficient to show COMI or an ‘establishment’ justifying recognition under chapter 15.

10th Circuit, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Western District

October 24, 2022

Judge Grabill Imposes $400,000 in Sanctions for Violation of Confidentiality Order

Subjectively laudable reasons for violating a confidentiality order didn’t absolve the lawyer of sanctions.

5th Circuit, Louisiana, Louisiana Eastern District

October 21, 2022

Second Circuit Says Orderly Liquidation Value Is Proper for a Retailer in Chapter 11

The Second Circuit adapts Rash to value the lender’s collateral in chapter 11 where there was a going-concern sale.

2nd Circuit

October 20, 2022

Possibly Dicta, the Fifth Circuit Disallows Make-Wholes

Creating a circuit split, the Fifth Circuit holds that the solvent-debtor exception to the allowance of post-petition interest survived adoption of the Bankruptcy Code.

5th Circuit