Automatic Stay

A Promise Not to Enforce a Judgment Meant There Was No Discharge Violation

The inability to modify a Section 524(a) discharge put the Ninth Circuit BAP in a bind.

Comparative Fault Doesn’t Require Reduced Attorneys’ Fees for Discharge Violations

Seventh Circuit holds that comparative fault requires a reduction in compensatory damages for a discharge violation but not for a debtor’s attorneys’ fees.

Plan Didn’t Extinguish Debts, Only Discharged Them, Fifth Circuit Says

A plan saying that it satisfies and settles claims does nothing more than discharge the claims. It doesn’t extinguish the claims, the Fifth Circuit says.

Like 18th Century England, There’s No Jury Trial Right for Stay Violations

Granfinanciera tells us to study English law from the 18th century in deciding when there’s a right to a jury trial in bankruptcy cases.

Judge Furay Sides with the Minority on Stay Termination After a Repeat Filing

Courts are divided on whether automatic stay termination in Section 362(c)(3) applies to property of the debtor’s estate.

Two Courts Hold: Injunctions Are Ok to Protect Nondebtors for the Life of a Plan

Judge Meredith Grabill of New Orleans agreed with New York’s Judge Mastando that a Subchapter V plan can enjoin lawsuits against nondebtors for the life of a three-year plan.

The ‘Dissent’ in Boy Scouts Favored Using Equitable Mootness to Uphold Nondebtor Releases

The circuit courts are diverging on the utility of equitable mootness to avoid reversing confirmation of chapter 11 plans.

July 2025