In This Issue:

- Banker Beware: Bank Practices under Increased Scrutiny as Dodd-Frank Implementation Begins

- The Lender-Borrower Tangle: Understanding California and Arizona Anti-Deficiency Legislation

- New Faces: Points from the President

- Who’s Hacked You Now? Changes to California’s Security Breach Statute

- Health Care Undergoes Major Surgery in 2012

- Development Today, Gone Tomorrow: Court Rules to Eliminate California Redevelopment Agencies

- How Absolute is the Absolute Priority Rule in Individual Chapter 11 Cases?

- Got Independent Contractors? (Are You Sure?)

- Excerpt from - How Absolute is the Absolute Priority Rule in Individual Chapter 11 Cases?

Known as a bedrock principle in chapter 11 cases, the “absolute priority rule” serves as an important protection for creditors. In general terms, it requires senior classes of creditors to be provided for in full before a junior class can receive a distribution under a chapter 11 plan. While this rule continues to apply in business chapter 11 cases, courts are divided on whether it applies to individual chapter 11 debtors. This issue is not a mere consumer matter, but impacts creditors who have made loans to sole proprietorships or have loans guaranteed by such debtors. Given the dichotomy in the courts, creditors should understand how to navigate this issue.