Fairness & Solvency Opinions Shouldn't Be Overlooked Amid Restructuring Wave
Asset Protection 101: Are You and Your Family Protected from Litigation, Creditors, and Divorce?
Bill on Bankruptcy: Rakoff Reverses Himself in Madoff Case
After years of litigation involving state, federal, Irish, and (to a lesser extent) Swiss law; transfers of numerous assets, including Ireland’s priciest-personal residence; a jury trial; and extensive post-trial briefing,...more
BACKGROUND- A sugar distributor sought to acquire a sugar producer. The district court determined that the relevant product market included distributors as sources of refined sugar, in addition to sugar producers. The...more
Section 544(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code enables a trustee to step into the shoes of a creditor and avoid a transfer “of an interest of the debtor in property” that an unsecured creditor could avoid under applicable state...more
AUTOMATIC STAY - 1.1 Covered Activities 1.1.a Court denies injunction against actions involving debtors’ affiliates. Shortly after filing their chapter 11 cases, the debtors in possession sought, in the alternative,...more
While there are still many unknowns in FTX’s bankruptcy including what, exactly, happened to billions of dollars of customer deposits on the former crypto trading platform, one thing is almost certain: there will be an...more
Owners of real property generally understand that their property rights can be impacted by litigation in which they are a party. However, what’s less clear, but perhaps equally important to understand and guard against, is...more
In a recent summary order in an appeal from a bankruptcy court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reaffirmed that mere receipt of a fraudulent transfer is not always sufficient to render the recipient...more
In a March 8, 2022 decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued an opinion holding, in part, that the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) does not have sovereign immunity for claims arising...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a judgment holding a lawyer jointly and severally liable for trade secret misappropriation and fraudulent transfer and enjoining any further use of the trade secrets...more
Answering “no” to a certified question from the Fifth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Texas held that a transferee on inquiry notice of fraud cannot shield itself from clawback without diligently investigating its initial...more
Recently, the First Circuit held that a parent’s tuition payments on behalf of an adult child do not benefit the parent’s bankruptcy estate, and a Chapter 7 trustee may therefore claw the payments back as fraudulent...more
In Jones v. Brand Law Firm, P.A. (In re Belmonte), Case No. 18-2098-bk (2d Cir. July 25, 2019), the Second Circuit affirmed both the bankruptcy court and district court decisions that found the Trustee was not barred by 11...more
Creditors’ recoveries often hinge on claw-back lawsuits that trustees bring under bankruptcy law and non-bankruptcy law. Trustees can file claims based on non-bankruptcy law because Bankruptcy Code section 544(b) allows them...more
Bankruptcy Courts throughout the country are split on the socially charged issue of whether tuition payments made by parents for their adult children can be recovered by a bankruptcy trustee as “constructively fraudulent”...more
The Bottom Line - In vacating judgments from both the District Court and the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York, the Second Circuit held, in In re Picard, 917 F.3d 85 (2d Cir. 2019), that the trustee...more
On February 25, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision holding that a trustee is not barred by either the presumption against extraterritoriality or by international comity...more
Many states, including Maryland and Pennsylvania, recognize the common law form of ownership of property as “tenants by the entireties” for both real and personal property, including bank accounts. Under that form of...more
On February 25, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the bankruptcy court’s dismissal of avoidance actions brought by Irving Picard, the trustee (Trustee) for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff...more
The appointment of a receivership is an incredibly useful tool for lawyers. Since it is such a useful tool and due to a recent ruling in Texas, we thought now was as good as any to brush up on our familiarity with...more
A Louisiana appeals court recently affirmed class certification in consolidated lawsuits, pending since 1991, against Louisiana’s Department of Insurance, other related state entities, and the state’s excess insurance...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined further developments in a case involving a former UBS investment advisor’s attempt to prevent the company from collecting on promissory notes the advisor owed to UBS upon...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine Brazil's new data protection regulation, the French data protection authority's warning to two companies of potential GDPR violations and the U.S....more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which a former investment advisor at UBS sought to prevent the company from collecting on promissory notes the advisor owed to UBS upon his departure. After the...more
Two United States Bankruptcy Judges for the Southern District of New York recently issued a joint opinion addressing common issues raised by motions to dismiss in two separate adversary proceedings – one pending before Judge...more
Section 549 of the Bankruptcy Code permits a trustee or debtor in possession to avoid (and ultimately recover) a transfer of the debtor’s property “that occurs after the commencement of the case” and “is not authorized under...more