The odds have risen that the Supreme Court will review Lamar Archer & Cofrin LLP v. Appling, 16-1215 (Sup. Ct.), to resolve a split of circuits and decide whether a false oral statement about one asset is a statement of “financial condition” that must be in writing to result in denial of discharge of a debt under Section 523(a)(2).
On the other hand, the high court declined to hear First Southern National Bank v. Sunnyslope Housing LP, 17-455 (Sup. Ct.), which raised the question of whether a secured creditor in chapter 11 is always entitled to recover at least the foreclosure value of its collateral.
The Supreme Court issued orders on Jan. 8 following the justices’ conference on Jan. 5. The orders included a denial of certiorari in Sunnyslope. The case raised an interesting question, but the circuit split may not have been well enough developed. In addition, tackling the cramdown-valuation issue would have forced the Court to consider the doctrine of equitable mootness, a question the justices have ducked in the past.
The certiorari petition in Appling was also on the Jan. 5 conference calendar, but the Court scheduled the case for another conference on Jan. 12. Multiple listings on the conference schedule increase the likelihood of granting certiorari. With Appling, the odds are even higher because the U.S. Solicitor General responded to a request from the Court and recommended granting certiorari.
Last year’s activity could be an indication of what will happen on Jan. 12; the justices granted 13 certiorari petitions at the equivalent conference in 2017, which filled out much of the remainder of the calendar for the term.
To read ABI’s most recent coverage of Sunnyslope and Appling, click here and here.