Technicalities Insulated a Lawyer from Liability for Misusing an IOLA
A creditor lost a dischargeability suit by failing to call the right witnesses to prove that a lawyer’s trust account was used to hide assets.
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Catholic Church Moves Funds Around to Shield $2 Billion in Assets from Abuse Victim Settlements
The Catholic Church in the U.S. has moved around more than $2 billion in assets in order to prevent the funds from going to alleged abuse victims who sued the Church, National Review reported. As more victims of sexual abuse by priests sued various dioceses around the nation, churches began transferring and reclassifying assets, and filing for bankruptcy, according to a Bloomberg Businessweek review of court filings by lawyers representing churches and victims over the last 15 years. Filing for chapter 11 has allowed the dioceses to reach universal settlements and protected them from further victim claims. Dioceses have chosen the bankruptcy option more than 20 times since 2004. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that the “decision on whether to seek chapter 11 protection in a given case is the diocese’s alone.” However, in some cases, the Vatican has signed off on an archdiocese’s financial reorganization before that archdiocese filed for bankruptcy.
A Pennsylvania Gambling License Isn’t ‘Property’ Recoverable as a Fraudulent Transfer
Sovereign immunity required dismissal of a suit to recover the value of a gambling license because the suit wasn’t an ancillary exercise of the bankruptcy court’s in rem jurisdiction over a res.
Second Circuit Again Applies the ‘Safe Harbor’ to Protect Selling Shareholders in an LBO
The Supreme Court’s Merit Management opinion fails to persuade the Second Circuit to change the result in Tribune.
Returning a Fraudulent Transfer Absolves the Recipient of Liability, Fifth Circuit Rules
Assisting a debtor in effecting a fraudulent transfer with ‘actual intent’ isn’t enough to hold the transferee liable.
The Texas UFTA Has No ‘Futility Defense’ When a Transferee Is on Inquiry Notice
The Texas UFTA Has No ‘Futility Defense’ When a Transferee Is on Inquiry Notice
Supreme Court Update: No Decision Soon on Extraterritorial Fraudulent Transfers
The Supreme Court wants the government’s opinion about comity and the extraterritorial application of Sections 548 and 550.