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Each year presents its own set of developments with respect to legislative proposals and enactments that impact the bankruptcy bar. In 2018, we saw, among other developments, the introduction of legislation to ensure fair treatment for military veterans seeking bankruptcy protection and to help small businesses reorganize in bankruptcy, privacy law enactments and proposals in the U.S. and abroad, and the failure of a proposed change to Bankruptcy Rule 2004. Those developments are discussed in further detail below.
[1]The Great Recession in the U.S., which began around 2008, caused numerous company failures. There were, however, some large, complex private-sector companies that the U.S. government deemed “too big to fail.” These too-big-to-fail financial companies, such as Bear Stearns and American International Group, Inc., were bailed out by the federal government using taxpayer money. With the goal of preventing future government (taxpayer) bailouts and to protect the stability of the U.S.
The Electronic Discovery (ESI) in Bankruptcy Cases Subcommittee of the ABA Business Law Section, Bankruptcy Court Structure and Insolvency Process Committee, chaired by the author, drafted a proposed amendment to add the concept of proportionality to Bankruptcy Rule 2004(c). In addition to the proposed amendment, the subcommittee drafted a report to accompany the proposed rule amendment, which explained the reasons for its recommendation.
As the first session of the 114th Congress ended on Dec. 18, 2015, nearly 50 pieces of legislation addressing a variety of bankruptcy and debt issues were added to ABI’s Newsroom. Eleven bills introduced throughout 2015 focused on the issue of student loans, either allowing for the discharge of student loans in bankruptcy or proposing additional consumer protections.
