Second Circuit Limits Res Judicata Effect of Prior Bankruptcy Proceedings
Appeals court was reluctant to let lawyers off the hook for allegedly unethical conduct.
Judge Name - Do not use it.
Peter W. Hall
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Willful Stay Violation Can Justify Damages for Emotional Distress, Third Circuit Says
For an ‘egregious’ stay violation, medical evidence of emotional distress is not required.
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Michael J. Melloy
Civil Contempt Proceedings Exempt from Automatic Stay in Ninth Circuit
No automatic stay to protect litigation misconduct in the Seventh and Ninth Circuits.
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Richard R. Clifton
Fee Application After Completion of Plan Payments Comes Too Late
Fees awarded after discharge are wiped out like everything else.
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Janet T. Neff
In Trump U Case, an Attack on the Lawyer Who Wants to Hold Up $25 Million Deal
With a $25 million settlement hanging in the balance, lawyers in the Trump University class action are lashing out at a New York attorney who filed an objection, accusing him of ethics violations and demanding that his client drop her opposition, the National Law Journal reported today. The accusations against Gary Friedman come as his objection to the settlement, filed earlier this month on behalf of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, lawyer Sherri Simpson, could sabotage final approval of the deal at a hearing on Thursday in San Diego. Plaintiffs lawyers with Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd sent a letter last week to Simpson, urging her to withdraw her objection, which they called ill-advised and warned could "jeopardize tens of millions of dollars in recoveries to thousands of Trump University student-victims who need relief now, not years down the line." Plaintiffs lawyers allege in a court filing that Friedman violated New York's Rule of Professional Conduct 7.3(a) by soliciting clients on the phone last month. Simpson, who has appeared in several political advertisements against Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, had no intention of opting out of the settlement until she was solicited by Friedman, wrote Rachel Jensen, a Robbins Geller partner.
Supreme Court Grants ‘Cert’ on Appellate Standards for Non-Statutory Insider Status
High court won’t decide whether a claim purchaser automatically takes seller’s insider status.
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Supreme Court
Indenture Trustee’s Counsel Fees Are Measured by a Different Standard
Indenture trustee’s fees to defend fees are compensable despite Baker Botts.
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Kevin Gross
Former Attorney Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud
Acting United States W. Stephen Muldrow announced that Josiah E. Hutton yesterday pleaded guilty to concealment of assets from a bankruptcy estate, according to a DOJ press release. Hutton faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Sentencing has been set for June 5, 2017. According to the plea agreement, Hutton was retained to represent a debtor who was planning to file for bankruptcy. In anticipation of filing a bankruptcy petition, Hutton received a settlement check, which was property of the debtor’s bankruptcy estate, and deposited it into his attorney escrow account. Hutton later prepared and certified the debtor’s bankruptcy petition, yet he failed to list the settlement check as an asset, thereby concealing the asset from creditors and the bankruptcy court.
