January 14, 2021

Even with Knowledge of Bankruptcy, Discharge Contempt Requires Notice of Discharge

The Ninth Circuit BAP says there must be knowledge of the discharge order to find contempt, even when the debtor continues the same conduct that violated the automatic stay.

9th Circuit

January 11, 2021

Guarantee of a Lease Survives Rejection if the Tenant Remains in Possession

District judge explains why veil-piercing is easier to prove in Michigan than elsewhere.

6th Circuit

January 11, 2021

Bankruptcy Judge Won’t Rule on the Constitutionality of Pandemic Regulations

Finding a proper exercise of regulatory power isn’t required to invoke the exception to the automatic stay.

3rd Circuit, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Western District

January 08, 2021

Court Narrowly Construes Taggart to Find Contempt of the Discharge Injunction

Atlanta judge gave the benefit of the doubt to the debtor on a discharge violation, but limited damages to the recovery of attorneys’ fees.

11th Circuit, Georgia, Georgia Northern District

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 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 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 17, 2020

Bankruptcy Judges Disagree About Abatement of Rent During the Pandemic

Neither the Bankruptcy Code nor state law permits reducing rent when government regulations restrict a debtor’s ability to generate income, Judge Isgur says.

5th Circuit, Texas, Texas Southern District