Lafferty v. Off-Spec Solutions, LLC (In re Off-Spec Solutions, LLC), --- B.R. --- (9th Cir. BAP Jul. 6, 2023) On July 6, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit entered an opinion affirming a decision by a bankruptcy court dismissing a complaint for nondischargeability under Bankruptcy Code § 523(a)(6).  The appellant had... Continue Reading →

Mann v. LSQ Funding Group, L.C., No. 22-2436 (7th Cir. June 22, 2023) On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of LSQ Funding Group, L.C., a creditor in the Engstrom, Inc. bankruptcy case.  Summary judgment was entered against Douglas Mann, chapter 7 trustee for... Continue Reading →

Sarnosky v. Chesapeake Energy Corp. (In re Chesapeake Energy Corp.), No. 21-20323 (5th Cir. June 8, 2023) On June 8, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a judgment approving a settlement agreement, entered into after confirmation of a chapter 11 plan of reorganization, that conflicted with the plan and was... Continue Reading →

Richardson v. Younce (In re Nail), No. 22-01379 (Bankr. W.D.Mich. June 8, 2023) On June 8, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan issued a memorandum decision and order dealing with a motion by the chapter 7 trustee, who had prevailed in litigation, for authority to conduct an examination of the... Continue Reading →

Airport Business Center v. Alfahel (In re Alfahel), No. 22-1219 (9th Cir. BAP June 1, 2023) On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, which avoided a judicial lien held by Airport Business Center (ABC) pursuant... Continue Reading →

Westhuizen v. Sky (In re Westhuizen), No. 22-1133 (9th Cir. BAP June 2, 2023) On June 2, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit overturned a bankruptcy court entry of summary judgment for nondischargeability under Bankruptcy Code § 523(a)(6).  The panel ruled that the bankruptcy court erroneously applied issue preclusion under Ohio... Continue Reading →

Goetz v. Weber (In re Goetz), No. 22-6009 (8th Cir. BAP June 1, 2023) On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a bankruptcy court’s denial of a motion by the Debtor Machele Goetz to compel abandonment of the estate's interest in her home. The panel agreed with the... Continue Reading →

OGGUSA, Inc. v. Louisville Dryer Co. (In re OGGUSA, Inc.), No. 22-8010 (6th Cir. BAP June 1, 2023) On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Sixth Circuit affirmed an order of a bankruptcy court holding that a certain email accusing a counterparty of default was not an anticipatory breach.  Specifically, OGGUSA,... Continue Reading →

In re Kern, No. 22-40437 (Bankr. D.Kan. May 26, 2023) On May 26, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas entered a memorandum opinion and order disallowing a secured claim asserted by a veterinarian. Briefly, Section 47-836 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated confers a lien to secure the just and reasonable charges... Continue Reading →

Kwok v. Li (In re Kwok), No. 22-1152 (9th Cir. BAP May 23, 2023) On May 23, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion agreeing with a bankruptcy court’s dismissal of an action based on the defense of in pari delicto but remanding for further findings to support an... Continue Reading →

In re Leonaggeo, No. 23-35092, --- B.R. --- (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. May 24, 2023) On May 24, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held that ordinary horse breeding, without more, does not constitute farming activity under chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code. Certain creditors filed a motion to dismiss the... Continue Reading →

In re Chicago South Loop Hotel Owner, LLC, No. 23-02595 (Bankr. N.D.Ill. May 24, 2023) On May 24, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois filed a memorandum opinion dismissing the chapter 11 case of Chicago South Loop Hotel Owner, LLC, for lack of proper authority to have filed the case.... Continue Reading →

Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin, --- U.S. --- (2023) On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an opinion holding that the bankruptcy code waives sovereign immunity for Native American tribes.  The opinion involves the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.  One of the... Continue Reading →

In re Dewitt, No. 11-36341 (Bankr. S.D.Ohio May 19, 2023) On May 19, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio entered a decision on a motion for summary judgment that provides a comprehensive analysis of Rule 3002.1 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.  The opinion investigates the meaning of the... Continue Reading →

Garven v. Paczkowski (In re Paczkowski), No. 19-04140 (Bankr. D.Minn. May 22, 2023) On May 22, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota issued a memorandum decision on the dischargeability of a debt in bankruptcy, specifically two exceptions to discharge and the possible application of the doctrine of collateral estoppel. The issue... Continue Reading →

In re Nuovo Ciao-Di, LLC, No. 23-10068 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. May 19, 2023) On May 19, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Sothern District of New York entered a memorandum opinion examining whether two contiguous commercial condominiums can be classified as "single asset real estate" under the Bankruptcy Code, specifically under 11 U.S.C. § 101(51B).... Continue Reading →

Clifton Capital Group, LLC v. Sharp (In re East Coast Foods, Inc.), --- F.4th ---, 2023 WL 3296746, at *1 (9th Cir. May 8, 2023) This case is about a very famous Los Angeles restaurant.  Specificlaly, in reaction to a $3.2 million judgment for racial discrimination, the operator of Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles... Continue Reading →

In re Purdue Pharma L.P., No. 22-110, --- F.4th --- (2d Cir. 2023) On May 30, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit delivered an opinion holding that Bankruptcy Code §§ 105(a) and 1123(b)(6) enable Purdue Pharma L.P. and associated entities to include in their Chapter 11 plan, non-consensual third-party releases of... Continue Reading →

In re Sears Holdings Corporation, No. 18-23538 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. May 15, 2023) On May 15, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered a memorandum opinion holding that electricity is not a "good" under the Uniform Commercial Code, and claims for providing power are not entitled to administrative priority under... Continue Reading →

On July 8, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of an action under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (“PACA”), determining that the allegations of a provider of alternative financing were sufficient to show that it acted as a seller of produce and not necessarily as a... Continue Reading →

In re Swackhammer, --- B.R. ---, 2023 WL 3591920 (8th Cir. May 23, 2023) On May 23, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit upheld the ruling of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Iowa approving a debtor's fourth modified repayment plan under Bankruptcy Code § 1229. The BAP... Continue Reading →

On August 8, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of three actions brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681 through 1681x) (“FCRA”), adopting a “reasonable reader” standard and holding that delinquent “Pay Status” notations referring to closed accounts are historical information, not reflecting current... Continue Reading →

In re SVB Financial Group, No. 21-10367 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. May 22, 2023) On May 22, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered a memorandum opinion granting a motion by sixteen current and former directors for relief from the automatic stay to allow the payment of defense costs under certain... Continue Reading →

In re Uzcanga-Ramirez, No. 22-31705 (Bankr. D.Or. May 9, 2023) On May 9, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon entered an opinion, approved by all of the active judges of the district, to accompany an order denying the debtor’s motion to reopen her chapter 7 case. The motion would have been... Continue Reading →

In re SVB Financial Group, No. 23-10367 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. May 17, 2023) The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York issued an opinion on May 17, 2023, in the SVB Financial Group case, which arises from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. Specifically, the FDIC brought a motion requesting to escrow tax... Continue Reading →

⁠In re Donaldson, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Case No. 23-10684)⁠ On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued an order denying a request for waiver of the credit counseling requirement notwithstanding the excuse of incarceration. The order denies Ora Joseph Donaldson Jr.'s petition... Continue Reading →

⁠Fogel v. Specialty Industries II, LLC (In re Palmieri), No. 22-A-00177 (Bankr. N.D.Ill. May 15, 2023) On May 15, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a memorandum opinion applying the ten-year lookback period for tax claims to a fraudulent-transfer action under Bankruptcy Code § 544. The opinion concerns a... Continue Reading →

In an unpublished memorandum decision issued Tuesday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss a trustee’s adversary proceeding attempting to recover $55 million from alleged subsequent transferees in connection with the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Securities Investor Protection Corporation v. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Adv. Pro.... Continue Reading →

This is an update to a previous post. On March 28, 2023, district court judge Jennifer H. Rearden granted the government's emergency application for a stay of plan confirmation pending appeal.  This follows on the bankruptcy court’s prior denial of a stay pending appeal. The stay is crucial, because the appeal would likely be dead... Continue Reading →

When is a proposed settlement so complex that it need be approved only under Rule 9019 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and need not be treated as a sale under Bankruptcy Code § 363? Find out in our podcast: Book Recommendation Today's recommended reading is Bending the Law: The Story of the Dalkon... Continue Reading →

In ⁠Dale & Klein L.L.P. v. Owsley (In re Owsley), No. 22-40283, 2023 WL 2424592 (5th Cir. Mar. 9, 2023)⁠, the Fifth Circuit upheld a bankruptcy court's order to cut a law firm's attorney's fees by just under 35% for unethical and discourteous behavior while representing a debtor in a chapter 13 bankruptcy case. Check... Continue Reading →

On Thursday, March 9, 2023, Judge Michael E. Wiles of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order confirming the plan of reorganization proposed by cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc., over the vehement objection of the federal government. The government took an appeal the very next day and,... Continue Reading →