Govt. Claims/Sovereign Immunity

Fraudulent Transfer Suit Didn’t Succeed in ‘Discharging’ Student Loans

Can student loans be wiped out as fraudulent transfers that aren’t dischargeable under Section 523(a)(8)?

Fines for Defrauding Consumers Are Dischargeable in a Corporate Chapter 11 Plan

Courts are divided on discharging fines in a corporate chapter 11 case when the government itself was not defrauded.

Eighth Circuit Won’t Impose Unwritten Requirements on Service of a Claim Objection

In the Bankruptcy Rules, a claim objection isn’t treated like a motion for all purposes, the Eighth Circuit says.

Seventh Circuit Requires Court Findings for a Plan Provision the Code Allows

The Seventh Circuit opinion raises the question of whether (or when) a court may restrict the use of a provision in a chapter 13 plan that Section 1322(b) permits.

No Contempt for the IRS on Discharge Without Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

Is Taggart just a defense that can be waived, or must a debtor plead and prove ‘no objectively reasonable basis’ in a motion for contempt of discharge?

Sept 2020

Liquidating in Chapter 11 Won’t Stop an EEOC Suit for Employment Discrimination

Magistrate judge decided that the regulatory power exception to the automatic stay allows the EEOC to proceed, but he stayed the suit by the former employee seeking damages.

Setoff Rights of the IRS Prevail over a Debtor’s Attempt to Exempt a Tax Refund

Fourth Circuit answered a question of first impression where the lower courts disagreed.

Confirmation Barred Claims Against a Coal Producer for Causing Global Warming

Global warming claims were discharged even though the chapter 11 plan did not discharge claims under environmental laws.