Sovereign Immunity Prevailed Because a Slot Machine License Isn’t ‘Property’
In Pennsylvania, a gaming license isn’t ‘property.’ It’s a revocable license that can’t be owned.
%1
Concurrence Doubts Ninth Circuit Precedent Barring a Creditor from Enforcing the Stay
Two judges appointed to the Ninth Circuit by President Trump disagree about the ability of a creditor to enforce the automatic stay for its benefit or to protect the estate.
Supreme Court Majority Deals a Blow to Enforcement of Consumer Protection Laws
Supreme Court narrows Spokeo by holding that violation of a statute won’t always give rise to standing and the right to sue for damages.
Judgment for Sexual Discrimination Automatically Made the Debt Nondischargeable
Although the arbitrator didn’t explicitly find willful and malicious injury, the nature of a successful claim for sexual discrimination supplied the required findings for nondischargeability.
Bankruptcy Examiner Named in Purdue Pharma Case
A government lawyer has selected the head of Squire Patton Boggs’ global restructuring practice to investigate the independence of a special committee that struck a deal with the Sackler family members who own the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, Reuters reported. The U.S. Department of Justice’s bankruptcy watchdog, the U.S. Trustee, selected Squire’s Stephen Lerner for the role, according to court papers filed yesterday. The appointment comes a week after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, N.Y., said that he would allow an examiner to explore whether the special committee of Purdue’s board was influenced at all by the Sackler family members in reaching a settlement that protects them against opioid-related litigation. The judge said during a contentious court hearing on June 16 that he did not know of any evidence to suggest the deal was negotiated unfairly but would bring in an examiner anyway out of fear of misleading press reports. U.S. Trustee William Harrington said in yesterday’s court filing that in selecting Lerner for the role, he consulted with lawyers for Purdue and its official committee of unsecured creditors, as well as supporters and opponents of the settlement.
The Pleading and Proof Required for Claims Against a Subsequent Transferee
Read Judge Grossman’s opinion as though it were a final exam question to see how many issues you spot and whether you come up with the correct answers.
Judge Orders Michigan AG Not to Disclose Detroit Bankruptcy Mediation Documents
A federal bankruptcy judge is putting a lid on the dissemination of documents related to the city of Detroit’s bankruptcy mediation by Flint water crisis prosecutors, MLive.com reported. In a five-page order issued yesterday, Judge <b>Thomas J. Tucker</b> said that he also wants to review samples of the documents that have been provided to attorneys for former Gov. Rick Snyder and eight others charged with water crisis crimes as a part of their court discovery process. “Effective immediately, and unless and until this Court orders otherwise in a future order, the Michigan Department of Attorney General is prohibited from disclosing to any person or entity any information or documents that are covered by the confidentiality provisions of this Court’s previous mediation orders,” the judge’s order says. “Such confidentiality provisions state the following, applicable to all mediation proceedings in this bankruptcy case: All proceedings, discussions, negotiation, and writings incident to mediation shall be privileged and confidential, and shall not be disclosed, filed or placed in evidence.” Attorneys for Snyder, who faces two criminal charges of willful neglect of duty related to the water crisis, filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit in May, asking for an order holding the attorney general’s office and the individuals responsible for “this improper release of information” in civil contempt. The attorney general’s office has argued that Snyder lacks standing to file the motion, that it took precautions to protect sensitive information related to mediation in the Detroit bankruptcy, and has asked the judge to amend the court’s mediation order to bind parties in the Flint water cases from disclosing bankruptcy documents they have received.
