Practice and Procedure

Due process is a fundamental right, reiterated in the foundational documents of the U.S. [2] All lawyers are taught and tested on the requirements of due process, both in a procedural and substantive context. As a review, “procedural due process” requires that the deprivation of life, liberty or property by adjudication be preceded by notice and opportunity for hearing appropriate to the nature of the case. [3]

When a deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6 (and its analogues Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9006 and Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 26) does not apply if the deadline is not calculated. In other words, if the court order states the deadline as a specific date, that date is the deadline, and it does not matter if it falls on a holiday. This is confirmed by the advisory committee’s note to the 2009 amendment: “The time-computation provisions of subdivision (a) apply only when a time period must be computed.

Bankruptcy Judge Refuses to Enforce an Arbitration Agreement

An exculpation clause in a chapter 11 plan protected the owner’s counsel from a malpractice suit.

Dec 2023

Dec 2023

State Law Lines Up with Federal Judicial Estoppel When Assets Aren’t Scheduled

Oregon Supreme Court allows substitution of a bankruptcy trustee as the real party in interest because denial would chiefly punish the debtor’s creditors.

Bankruptcy Courts Have Statutory Power to Remove Voided Liens

Bankruptcy Rule 7070, incorporating Federal Rule 70 along with 28 U.S.C. § 1655, gives bankruptcy courts power to remove liens of record when the lenders don’t do so voluntarily.