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An adverse inference sanction for spoliation of evidence is reviewed for abuse of discretion by the district court after withdrawal of the reference.

Local rules require lawyers to prepare and fill all required chapter 7 papers regardless of whether the debtor pays the fee or agrees to pay the fee.

Authorities are split on whether avoidance actions are estate property that can be sold or can only be prosecuted by the trustee.

Curtailing equitable mootness will benefit the bankruptcy community by fostering appellate decisions that clarify the standards for confirmation of chapter 11 plans.

Circuits are split 2/1 on whether a debtor must have committed a securities law violation before a judgment is made nondischargeable under Section 523(a)(19).

Retired Judge Kressel wrote the opinion in 2000 relied on by the Eighth Circuit.

Circuit Judge Loken predicts the Supreme Court will abolish equitable mootness if the lower courts don’t cut back and start reviewing the merits of confirmed chapter 11 plans.

Federal law allows tribes to determine whether a tribe member’s interest in distributions of gaming revenue will be estate property in bankruptcy, Judge Ridgway says.

Courts are continuing to grapple with bifurcated fee arrangements allowing chapter 7 debtors to pay the entire fee after filing.

Debts acquired from running a business do not qualify someone for subchapter V of chapter 11 if the business has terminated and the assets are gone, according to Judge Cynthia Norton.