On May 13, 2025, the Third Circuit issued a high-stakes opinion in In re Boy Scouts of America, affirming the confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan that includes nonconsensual, nondebtor third-party releases—despite the U.S....more
In a recent decision that highlights a key circuit split, Bankruptcy Judge Patricia M. Mayer of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that equitable powers under Section 105(a) of the Bankruptcy Code cannot be used to...more
Section 106(a) Doesn’t Waive Sovereign Immunity for State-Law-Based Section 544(b) Claims - The U.S. Supreme Court has significantly curtailed bankruptcy trustees’ powers in United States v. Miller, 145 S. Ct. 839 (2025). In...more
I am commonly asked by clients and other lawyers who are frustrated by typical collection efforts if we can place the would-be debtor into an involuntary bankruptcy. The short answer is, yes, it is often possible to place a...more
On January 24, 2025, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia entered an opinion denying a motion for a stay pending an appeal of a settlement motion in In re Hopeman Bros., Inc., No....more
A December 13, 2024, opinion from Judge Walrath held that a 2023 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, 599 U.S. 736 (2023) requires staying prosecution of an adversary proceeding when the...more
This author previously wrote an article published in Bloomberg Law regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to take up an appeal of a decision on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Miller. In Miller, the...more
Congress enacted the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (“SBRA”) on August 23, 2019, to facilitate the reorganization of smaller business debtors in the United States. The SBRA, codified as Subchapter V of Chapter 11...more
In an opinion on January 22nd, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Matter of S. Coast Supply Co., 91 F.4th 376 (5th Cir. 2024), held that preference claims arising under 11 U.S.C. § 547 may be sold, reversing the dismissal...more
Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9006(b) provides that, generally, “when an act is required to be done at or within a specified period by these rules or by a notice given thereunder or by order of court, the court for...more
In Matter of Imperial Petroleum Recovery Corp., 84 F.4th 264 (5th Cir. 2023), the Fifth Circuit was asked to address whether 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a) – the federal statute providing for post-judgment interest – applies in...more
In Matter of Texxon Petrochemicals, L.L.C., 67 F.4th 259 (5th Cir. 2023), the Fifth Circuit held that even if an appeal is equitably moot, the appellate court nonetheless has appellate jurisdiction to consider the merits of...more
Section 503(b)(9) Overview -
Ever since its addition to the Bankruptcy Code in 2005, there has been an ongoing debate as to whether electricity is a “good” or a “service” for purposes of section 503(b)(9). If electricity...more
On April 17, 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Matter of RE Palm Springs II, L.L.C., 2023 WL 2966520 (5th Cir. April 17, 2023), held that a senior lender who uses economic leverage and asserts its legal rights to...more
5/9/2023
/ 363 Sales ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Deed of Trust ,
Default ,
Lenders ,
Mechanics Lien ,
Priority Debt ,
Secured Debt
Two recent decisions from circuit courts of appeal – the Fifth and Ninth – have addressed a question that does not arise often: in a solvent-debtor chapter 11 case, is the debtor required to pay post-petition interest...more
On August 18, 2022, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, in In re BWGS, LLC, No. 19-01487-JMC-7A, 2022 WL 3568045 (Bankr. S.D. Ind. Aug. 18, 2022), narrowly interpreted the safe harbor...more
9/28/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Bridge Loan ,
Chapter 7 ,
ESOP ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Loan Payments ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 546(e) ,
Stock Purchase Agreement
Overview -
Although a discharge might not release third parties and protects only the debtor against a determination of personal liability, in In re Le Ctr. on Fourth, LLC, 17 F.4th 1326 (11th Cir. 2021), the Eleventh...more
In City of Chicago, Illinois v. Fulton, No. 19-357, 2021 WL 125106, at *1 (U.S. Jan. 14, 2021), the United States Supreme Court considered the issue of whether the mere retention of estate property after the filing of a...more
Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code is a safe harbor provision that establishes that a trustee or debtor-in-possession may not avoid a transfer “by or to... a financial institution.. in connection with a securities...more
The Bankruptcy Protector has previously provided a succinct summary of all cases decided post-Jevic. In this update, we discuss the cases decided between May 10, 2019 and November 27, 2019....more
In In re I80 Equip., LLC, 938 F.3d 866, 874 (7th Cir. 2019), the Seventh Circuit held that a financing statement under the Uniform Commercial Code sufficiently describes collateral by referring to an unattached security...more
In In re Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, 2019 WL 4667518 (1st Cir. 2019), the United States Court of Appeals affirmed in part and vacated in part the Article III court’s partial denial of Plaintiffs’...more
The Bankruptcy Protector recently discussed notable non-bankruptcy provisions that must be consulted to ensure compliance with privacy issues. In this post, we discuss notable Bankruptcy Code provisions and Bankruptcy Rules...more
Privacy issues implicate several Bankruptcy Code sections and Bankruptcy Rules. The debtor must also comply with non-bankruptcy rules concerning privacy to the extent that such rules are not inconsistent with the Bankruptcy...more
Back in December of 2017, the Bankruptcy Protector provided a succinct summary of all cases decided post-Jevic through November 17, 2017. In this update, we discuss the cases decided between November 17, 2017 and May 10,...more