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Releases in conformation orders do not always protect against subsequent litigation or liability. DVL Inc. and DVL Kearney Holdings LLC (collectively, “DVL”) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against Congoleum Corp., which in turn sued Bath Iron Works Corp. (BIW) as a third-party defendant concerning a contaminated piece of land. Previously, Congoleum had gone through a bankruptcy where it settled asbestos-related personal-injury claims and the confirmation order contained certain releases of liability.

Investing in distressed real estate is often characterized by the high returns it can offer on invested capital, as well as the many ways an investor can lose his invested capital. When investing in distressed real estate, either via equity or debt, it is inevitable that investors will come across “hair” that would normally deter more institutional investors. This “hair” may appear in the form of a property in desperate need of repairs, one that has significant environmental damage, or a property that does not have clean and marketable title.

Shopping centers are a delicate blend of stores and services, carefully crafted at the hand of the master mixologist: the landlord. However, if a landlord doesn’t take certain precautions, it may lose its right to control the balance of the ingredients to this cocktail: the tenant mix. On May 30, 2018, Eastern District of Virginia Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips ruled that a landlord in Brea, Calif., could not rely on 11 U.S.C.

A Massachusetts bankruptcy court has ruled that a duplex used both as the debtors’ residence and an Airbnb rental qualified for Massachusetts’s homestead exemption. The chapter 7 debtors in In re Shove[1] moved to avoid a million-dollar judgment lien on their real property, arguing that the lien impaired their homestead exemption. The debtors valued their duplex at $195,400, with a mortgage balance of $162,125. The lienholder objected to the lien avoidance.

Bankruptcy trustees are armed with several familiar tools to recover assets for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate. One commonly used tool is state law avoidance powers, which is granted to trustees by § 544(b). However, trustees (and their attorneys) should be aware that § 548 provides an additional, independent cause of action to avoid transfers. The importance of this additional federal remedy was illustrated recently in the Northern District of Iowa.

Section 522(b)(3)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code generally permits a debtor to claim exemptions under the state or local law applicable on the date of the filing of the petition.[1] Which state or local exemption scheme applies is determined by a debtor’s domicile during the 730 days immediately preceding the petition date, but what happens if you live in two places?

The collapse of a commercial construction project may result in reorganization or liquidation through an insolvency proceeding overseen by a bankruptcy trustee or receiver. As part of the wind-down process, following the liquidation of assets the fiduciary has an obligation to equitably distribute any remaining and recovered assets to the estate’s creditors. Consequently, in order to properly allocate the assets, the fiduciary has a duty to analyze all creditor claims, including statutory lien claims.

Mechanic’s Lien Validity