This blog previously covered the Supreme Court’s decision in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. 69 (2023), which held that, under Section 523(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code, an individual debtor may not discharge through...more
The complexities of cancellation of debt income (CODI), including bankruptcy and insolvency implications, are important to understand. When debt is cancelled or discharged, the borrowed funds become taxable income, or...more
We have written in the past about exceptions to the general rule regarding a debtor’s ability to discharge debt in bankruptcy and achieve a “fresh start.” In a recent decision of interest, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth...more
The Bankruptcy Code generally allows a debtor to wipe out all pre-bankruptcy debts and get a fresh start in life. But not all debts are equal. Some debts can't be discharged, meaning they survive bankruptcy, and the...more
The Small Business Restructuring Act of 2019, Pub. L. 116-54, 133 Stat. 1079 (Aug. 23, 2019) (“SBRA”) became effective February 19, 2020. SBRA, among other things, created a new Subchapter V under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of...more
Debtors facing regulatory fines and penalties want to shed them in bankruptcy and emerge without paying them. With certain exceptions, the Bankruptcy Code provides for the discharge of most debts that arise before a plan is...more
Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (“PACA”) creates a trust to protect produce suppliers. In a recent S.D. of Florida Bankruptcy Case, the issue before the Court was whether a PACA trust is the type of trust that...more
For those of you who like to get something you can use from blog posts, attached here is a Form PACA Nondischargeability Complaint for a PACA seller against a party that controlled a PACA buyer, where such controlling party...more
A debt “for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity” cannot be discharged in an individual bankruptcy case. 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(4). The precise scope of the term, “fiduciary,” within the meaning of this...more
Just last month, the Bankruptcy Cave reported upon a Southern District of Texas case in which a debtor was denied discharge of a debt owed to an old (and likely former!?!) friend from church who had been required to pay off a...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case in which the defendant – who had pleaded guilty in a criminal case to one count of fraud under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and one count of money laundering,...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed an adversary proceeding brought against a broker by a plaintiff seeking recovery of investment losses. After the plaintiff filed a FINRA arbitration, the broker filed a...more
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
A decision rendered during the sometimes peaceful interlude between Christmas and New Year’s is worth reading, and heeding. Hurston v. Anzo (In re Hurston), Adv. Proc. No. 15-2026 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. Dec. 27, 2016) is a helpful...more
As a patent owner, you have the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing your claimed invention into the United States. You also have the ability to recover damages from a...more
On May 12, 2016, the Honorable Julie A. Manning issued a decision in an adversary proceeding entitled Law Office of W. Martyn Philpot, Jr., LLC v. Day, which addressed two issues. The first issue was whether the plaintiff was...more