In Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 144 S. Ct. 2071 (2024) (“Purdue”), the Supreme Court held that the Bankruptcy Code does not authorize nonconsensual releases of nondebtors as part of a chapter 11 plan. The Court narrowly...more
8/1/2024
/ Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Harrington v Purdue Pharma L P ,
Indemnification Clauses ,
Non-Debtors ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Purdue Pharma ,
SCOTUS
The United States Trustee Program is responsible for the efficient administration of bankruptcy cases throughout most of the country. Since 1986, the Trustee Program has covered all states except North Carolina and Alabama,...more
On June 30, the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration did not have authority to forgive student loans under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act). Despite this defeat,...more
7/25/2023
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Biden Administration ,
Brunner/Gerhardt Test ,
Class Action ,
Debt ,
Higher Education Act ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Relief Measures ,
SCOTUS ,
Student Loans ,
Students ,
Unsecured Debt
We have blogged a few times about the Supreme Court’s decision in Siegel v. Fitzgerald and its implications. In Siegel, the Supreme Court invalidated the disparity in debtor-paid fees prevailing in most of 2018 between the 88...more
We have previously blogged about Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, No. 21-908, a Supreme Court case concerning the scope of the fraud exception to the dischargeability of debts in bankruptcy. Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code exempts...more
We have previously blogged about Siegel v. Fitzgerald, the Supreme Court decision last June that invalidated the 2018 difference in fees between bankruptcy cases filed in Bankruptcy Administrator judicial districts and U.S....more
12/2/2022
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Bankruptcy Trustees ,
Certiorari ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Debtors ,
Fees ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Siegel v. Fitzgerald ,
Uniformity ,
Vacated
The ramifications of uneven increases to fees in chapter 11 bankruptcies continue to ripple through federal courts.
As we discussed previously, Congress enacted legislation in 2017 that temporarily increased U.S....more
We have previously written about Siegel v. Fitzgerald, No. 21-441, the Supreme Court case considering the question of whether the 2018 difference in fees between Bankruptcy Administrator judicial districts and U.S. Trustee...more
The doctrine of equitable mootness is in the news again. The Supreme Court recently denied a cert. petition in a case where the petitioner wanted the doctrine ruled unconstitutional. KK-PB Financial LLC v. 160 Royal Palm...more
A discharge in bankruptcy usually discharges a debtor from the debtor’s liabilities. Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code, however, sets forth certain exceptions to this policy, including for “any debt . . . for money,...more
Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution gives Congress the power to “establish . . . uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States.” While Congress has general authority to...more
When a debtor files for bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Code provides for an automatic stay of almost all proceedings to recover property from the debtor. See 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). A party in interest can seek an order exempting...more
1/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Automatic Stay ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure ,
Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay ,
Reaffirmation ,
Right To Appeal ,
Ritzen Group Inc v Jackson Masonry LLC ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims
Successful bankruptcy cases typically end with a court order releasing a debtor from liability for most pre-bankruptcy debts. This order, generally known as a “discharge order,” prohibits the debtor’s creditors from trying to...more
6/17/2019
/ Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) ,
Bankruptcy Code § 524(a) ,
Bankruptcy Discharge Order ,
Chapter 7 ,
Civil Contempt Orders ,
Concurrent Litigation ,
Creditors ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Money Judgment ,
Reasonable Belief Test ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Review ,
Statutory Violations ,
Taggart v Lorenzen ,
Vacated
On June 4, the Supreme Court decided Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No. 16-1215, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Sotomayor. The Court affirmed the Eleventh Circuit and resolved a circuit split about the meaning of...more
6/15/2018
/ Adversary Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Business Assets ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Congressional Intent ,
Debtors ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
False Statements ,
Judgment Creditors ,
Lamar Archer & Cofrin LLP v Appling ,
Oral Communications ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS ,
Tax Returns
In U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Village at Lakeridge, LLC, No. 15-1509, 2018 U.S. LEXIS 1520 (Mar. 5, 2018), the Supreme Court analyzed the appropriate standard of review for appellate courts reviewing a bankruptcy court’s...more
3/15/2018
/ Appellate Review ,
Arms Length Transactions ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Clear Error Standard ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cramdown ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Debtor-Creditor ,
Non-Statutory Insider Status ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reorganizations ,
SCOTUS ,
US Bank National Association v Village at Lakeridge
On November 9, responding to a request from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Solicitor General filed a brief at the Court recommending that the petition for writ of certiorari in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No....more