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In re School Specialty, Inc., Case No. 13-10125 (KJC) (Bankr. D. Del. Apr. 22, 2013)

In an age of historically low interest rates, lenders rely on fee income and other devices to enhance their returns. One of these mechanisms -- and one that can have dramatic consequences for a borrower -- is the inclusion of...more

Incentive Awards Corrupted Class Action Settlement By Undermining Adequacy Of Class Representatives And Counsel

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently considered “the issue of whether class representatives and class counsel are adequate where the settlement agreement conditions payment of incentive awards on...more

Bank Did Not Alter Right To Foreclose By Agreeing To Work With The Debtor After Bankruptcy Dismissal

In Branch Banking and Trust Company v. TCI Luna Ventures, LLC, BB&T appealed a temporary injunction order prohibiting it from foreclosing on two properties owned by TCI Luna. No. 05-12-00653-CV, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 1745...more

Cyprus Bailout: Potential Recourse for Lost Investments

Large depositors in Cyprus's two largest banks may consider international arbitration and appeals to the European courts to recover funds lost under the bailout plan....more

Narrow Interpretation of "Customer" Under SIPA Is Affirmed by the Second Circuit

On February 22, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in In re Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC held that certain individuals who had invested indirectly in Bernard L. Madoff Investment...more

Drafting Errors - Routinely Cost Lenders’ Post-Bankruptcy Attorney’s Fees and Interest

Originally published in Community Banker - Spring 2013. When a bankruptcy intervenes to prevent the continuation of a restructuring or loan enforcement effort, it is too late to supplement or strengthen loan...more

MICHAEL L. JONES v WELLS FARGO BANK

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA OPINION AFFIRMING $3.1 MILLION PUNITIVE DAMAGE AWARD AGAINST WELLS...

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA MICHEAL L. JONES vs WELLS FARGO BANK OPINION Before the Court is Appellant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.'s Appeal from a decision of the United States...more

When in Doubt, File a Motion: Trends Concerning Automatic Stay Violations

Bankruptcy filings in Virginia, and nationwide, declined significantly in 2012, and it appears the decline is continuing in 2013. However, thousands of cases continue to be filed, and it is important for practitioners to...more

A Tale Of Two Debtors: Lehman Brothers And The Availability Of Equitable Subordination In The “Dueling Debtor” Context

Originally published in the NYU Journal of Law & Business - Vol. 9:269, 2012. This article suggests that the generally accepted “offensive/defensive” standard used by bankruptcy courts to determine whether a debtor may...more

In re: Chapter 7 Case No. 11-24269 JUANITA STRASSFIELD, Debtor.

ORDER DENYING WELLS FARGO’S MOTION TO VACATE AUTOMATIC STAY BASED ON FILING FALSE DOCUMENTS WITH THE COURT

ORDER DENYING WELLS FARGO’S MOTION TO VACATE AUTOMATIC STAY AND PARTIALLY GRANTING RELIEF SOUGHT IN OBJECTIONS THERETO Upon the motion, dated January 24, 2012 (the “Motion”), of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo”) to...more

Obligations To Pensioners In An Insolvency: Supreme Court Clarifies The Law

The Supreme Court of Canada overturned the Ontario Court of Appeal today in what is one of the most highly-anticipated cases for the pension and insolvency bars pending before the courts. In Indalex (Re) 2013 SCC 6, the court...more

Attorney Fee Award to Debtor Is Affirmed Where Creditor's "Reasonable Reliance" Claims Have No Merit

In Heritage Pacific Financial LLC v. Machuca, 2012 DJDAR 16803 (2012), the US Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit decided an interesting attorney fee case arising in the commercial litigation context. The fee...more

Fifth Circuit Crafts New Test For Foreign Debtor Relief

Originally published in the New York Law Journal on January 3, 2012. On Nov. 28, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in In re Vitro S.A.B. de C.V. issued a groundbreaking decision under Chapter 15 of...more

Fifth Circuit Crafts New Test For Foreign Debtor Relief

Originally published in the New York Law Journal on January 3, 2012. On Nov. 28, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in In re Vitro S.A.B. de C.V. issued a groundbreaking decision under Chapter 15 of...more

Bank Held in Contempt for Failing to Return Collateral Repossessed Before Bankruptcy

Most lenders know that a bank cannot repossess collateral after a borrower files bankruptcy unless the bank first obtains relief from the automatic stay. But can a bank retain collateral that it repossessed before the...more

Illinois Supreme Court Holds Judgment of Foreclosure Not Immediately Appealable

Under Illinois law, a judgment of foreclosure does not end a mortgage foreclosure case; it remains modifiable by the trial court and is strictly interlocutory. After such a judgment is entered, the property is sold once...more

Fifth Circuit Refuses to Enforce Mexican Reorganization Plan's Proposed Release of Non-Debtor Bond Guarantors

The Fifth Circuit recently upheld a Texas Bankruptcy Court’s refusal to enforce non-debtor third party releases in the Mexican reorganization proceeding (known as a concurso mercantil) of Mexican glass manufacturer Vitro SAB...more

Bankruptcy Abroad: US Creditors’ Rights Remain Relevant in Chapter 15

With an increasing number of businesses operating without regard to borders in today’s global economy, the importance of understanding Chapter 15 — the Bankruptcy Code provisions instructing the cooperation between the United...more

Rogers Towers: The Extraordinary Remedy of Discharging Third Party Liability in Bankruptcy Proceedings

Recently the Fifth Circuit handed down a thorough opinion regarding Chapter 15 cross-border insolvency and its effects on domestic and foreign creditors. Beyond the Chapter 15 context, however, the court of appeals in In re...more

Rogers Towers: The Threat of Lien Stripping in “Chapter 20” Bankruptcy

As discussed in the McNeal posts below, junior mortgage holders are increasingly finding that their mortgages are worth less than the paper they were printed on. Especially troubling to lenders, are conflicting decisions that...more

Will Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Stop Foreclosure?

In short, YES. Filing a bankruptcy, whether it be Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, will stop the foreclosure process. However, filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may not stop the process permanently. When a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is filed,...more

Homeowners Alert: Foreclosure Prevention In GA

Good news for some struggling Georgia homeowners who have been "hit the hardest" by the economy. A program to "prevent foreclosures" has been launched by the State of Georgia, Department of Community Affairs under the name...more

Enforcing orders made in foreign insolvency proceedings

The UK Supreme Court decision in Rubin v Eurofinance SA and what it means for BVI and Cayman - This article sets out the potential impact in the BVI and Cayman of the much anticipated Supreme Court decision in Rubin v....more

Judgment Proof: The English Supreme Court Pushes Back On U.S. Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction

In a case with truly global implications, the Supreme Court of England and Wales held earlier today that judgments of U.S. Bankruptcy Courts against foreign defendants who had not submitted to the Bankruptcy Court’s...more

Lehman Bankruptcy Update: Lehman Reaches $38 Billion Deal With European Unit

The Trustee overseeing the liquidation under the Securities Investor Protection Act (“SIPA”) of Lehman Brothers Inc. (“Lehman”) in the U.S. and the Joint Administrator of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (“LB Europe”)...more