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The Perils of Over-Lawyering in Bankruptcy

For a lender in bankruptcy, the best situation is to be an over-secured creditor, meaning the value of your collateral exceeds your debt.  A creditor in this exalted category can recover principal, interest (including...more

Should I Care About the Purdue Pharma Decision?

On June 27, 2024, the United States Supreme Court decided the Purdue Pharma appeal. In a five-to-four decision, the Supreme Court held that a bankruptcy court may not extend to non-debtors the benefits of a Chapter 11...more

It Just Got More Difficult to Qualify For Subchapter V Bankruptcy

Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, which took effect four years ago, creates a more streamlined and less expensive Chapter 11 reorganization path for small business debtors....more

Can I Require a "True Up" in a Subchapter V Plan of Reorganization?

For creditors, it can be difficult to navigate the financial difficulties of your customers. It seems like it would only get worse in bankruptcy, but that is not always the case.  Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy...more

Charging Order Limitations – You Can't Charge What They Don't Own

In North Carolina, a creditor who obtains a judgment against an individual with an ownership interest in a limited liability company or limited liability partnership may enforce its unsatisfied judgment by petitioning the...more

Don't Disrespect the Receivership

A recent decision by the North Carolina Business Court highlights the risks of interfering with property that is part of a receivership estate. The North Carolina Commercial Receivership Act celebrated its three-year...more

740,000 Reasons to Think Twice Before Putting a Company in Bankruptcy

A recent decision from a bankruptcy court in Delaware provides a cautionary tale about the risks of involuntary bankruptcy.  In the Delaware case, the debtor managed a group of investment funds. The business was all but...more

Bankruptcy Destroyed My Perfect (Landlord-Tenant) Relationship!

February brings us Valentine's Day, and we bring you a tale as old as time. Two people meet, maybe online, maybe at a Chamber of Commerce mixer, maybe over lunch arranged by a broker.  They hit it off and commit to a...more

A Discharge Lesson Courtesy of the Worst Person in the World

Alex Jones, the despicable, chest-thumping, conspiracy-peddling radio host, for years, blabbered on his radio show that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. When the families of the murdered children sued him...more

What the "Biggest Holiday Inn in the World" Can Teach Us About Default Interest in Bankruptcy

When a borrower triggers a monetary default under a loan by failing to make required payments, most loan documents allow the lender to accelerate the loan and invoke a default interest rate and penalties....more

How to Get Your Own "Free" Private Investigator in Bankruptcy

Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, which turned three earlier this year, created a more streamlined and less expensive Chapter 11 reorganization path for small business debtors. It also created a new position...more

Secured Lender Duffs Golf Course Valuation Hearing

In Chapter 11, value is king.  Secured creditors have rights in proportion to the value of their collateral.  When a secured creditor and the debtor can't agree on value, appraisals and appraiser testimony become...more

Fourth Circuit Says "Do the Math" For Attorneys' Fees Awards

In North Carolina, a loan agreement can require a borrower to pay attorneys' fees upon default to reimburse the lender for collection expenses....more

No Discharge for Bonnie, No Discharge for Clyde.

The Bankruptcy Code generally allows a debtor to wipe out all pre-bankruptcy debts and get a fresh start in life.  But not all debts are equal.  Some debts can't be discharged, meaning they survive bankruptcy, and the...more

When Can You Freeze and Seize a Judgment Debtor’s Bank Account?

What can you do to collect on a judgment, and when can you do it?  And does it matter if you're going after the judgment debtor directly, or after the property of the judgment debtor in the hands of a third party?  In a...more

The Case of the Inexcusably Ignorant Refinance Loan

A recent decision from the North Carolina Court of Appeals illustrates the wrong way to refinance a loan.  In Midfirst Bank v. Brown, a refinancing lender cancelled a deed of trust that should have been assigned to it and...more

Beware of Procedural Pitfalls in HOA Foreclosures

Most community associations already know the Planned Community Act allows them to place a lien on a delinquent homeowner's property and foreclose on that interest.  But to do so, associations must comply strictly with the...more

Foreclosure Warning: Property Possessed but Not Owned by a Debtor May Be Subject to the Automatic Stay

Creditors know that a bankruptcy petition automatically halts efforts to collect pre-petition debts from the debtor outside of bankruptcy.  The "automatic stay" provides fundamental protection to debtors, mandating a full...more

In Foreclosure, Your Attorney Can Be Counsel or Trustee, But Not Both

Five years ago, the General Assembly amended the foreclosure statute to prohibit an attorney who serves as trustee or substitute trustee from representing the noteholder or the borrower during a foreclosure proceeding. ...more

Fireworks, Hot Dogs, and Bankruptcy?

As the townsfolk of Lubbock, Texas readied for the annual Fourth on Broadway Independence Day fireworks show and celebration, local car dealer Reagor-Dykes wanted to be front of mind.  So as it had the previous year, it...more

Can actions be inadvertent and intentional simultaneously? For automatic stay violations, the answer is "Yes."

Creditors know that when a debtor files bankruptcy, the "automatic stay" prohibits further collection activity to give a debtor breathing room to reorganize his affairs.  If a creditor willfully violates the stay, it can be...more

Corporate Bad Behavior Is Not Dischargeable Under Subchapter V

If a business engages in bad behavior like intentional interference with contract and tortious interference with business relations, then it may not use Subchapter V of Chapter 11 to discharge debts based on that bad...more

Subchapter V Debt Ceiling Restored to $7.5 Million

In a welcome feat of bipartisanship, Congress passed a bill to restore the Subchapter V debt limit to $7.5 million, and President Biden signed it into law on June 21. ...more

"My Lawyer Made Me Do It" is Not an Absolute Defense to Bankruptcy Court Sanctions

Last year, we offered a lesson and a moral from a North Carolina district court decision reversing a $115,000 sanctions order by a North Carolina bankruptcy court.  The lesson from the case was that the bankruptcy court...more

Even Indirect Income from Cannabis Can Get You Banned From Bankruptcy

Despite widespread trends in state-level legalization and decriminalization of high-THC cannabis and growing acceptance of cannabis among Americans, cannabis and cannabis products remain illegal under federal law.  At...more

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