The New Cold War: Risk, Sanctions, Compliance Episode 25: “Can the U.S. Seize the Russian Central Bank’s Assets?”
Common Missteps When Suing the State of New Jersey and How to Prevent Them
We have previously blogged about the Tenth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Miller, a case that concerns the relationship between section 544(b)(1) and section 106(a)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code. As we explained in our...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
The Bankruptcy Code provides chapter 7 trustees with significant powers to liquidate and collect estate assets and pursue litigation claims, such as fraudulent transfer claims against third parties, all to increase the...more
Recently, in the case United States v. Miller, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the sovereign immunity waiver provision in the Bankruptcy Code is jurisdictional only and does not waive the federal government’s sovereign...more
On March 26, 2025, the Supreme Court held in an 8‑to‑1 decision authored by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson that Section 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code waives the federal government’s sovereign immunity with respect to...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued two decisions: Bondi v. VanDerStok, No. 23-852: This case addresses a statutory challenge to ATF regulations designed to prohibit ghost guns—privately made...more
On March 26, 2025, the United States Supreme Court decided United States v. Miller, No. 23-824, resolving a circuit split and holding that in an action brought under § 544(b) of the bankruptcy code, § 106(a)’s sovereign...more
The Supreme Court decided two cases today, continuing the release of opinions on which the Court is not deeply divided. The tougher ones are yet to come....more
When an involuntary bankruptcy petition is dismissed, section 303(i) of the Bankruptcy Code permits a debtor to seek reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs from the petitioners, and, if the petition was filed in bad faith,...more
Two recent decisions in the Madoff bankruptcy cases illustrate that the legacy of Bernie Madoff will long survive the man himself. Bernie Madoff died on April 14, 2021, while incarcerated in the Federal Medical Center in...more
Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code’s “safe harbor” preventing avoidance in bankruptcy of certain securities, commodity, or forward-contract payments has long been a magnet for controversy. Several noteworthy court rulings...more
Bankruptcy trustees and chapter 11 debtors-in-possession ("DIPs") frequently seek to avoid fraudulent transfers and obligations under section 544(b) of the Bankruptcy Code and state fraudulent transfer or other applicable...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
Since May 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued three decisions addressing or potentially impacting issues of bankruptcy law. These included rulings concerning the abrogation of sovereign immunity for Native American tribes...more
The courts have long been split on the question of whether Native American tribes are immune from legal attacks under federal bankruptcy law. Some courts have held that tribes and tribal-owned entities could not be sued for...more
On average, the Supreme Court hears a single bankruptcy case each term. But during the October 2022 term, the Supreme Court issued a remarkable four decisions in bankruptcy cases. These decisions, which are summarized below,...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, et al. v. Coughlin. The case involved a tribal entity, “Lendgreen,” that lent an individual, Brian Coughlin, “$1,100 in...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Bankruptcy Code barred an Indian tribe’s attempts to collect on a defaulted debt from a Chapter 13 debtor....more
On June 15, 2023, Justice Jackson led the majority in an 8-1 decision holding that the Bankruptcy Code abrogates federally recognized tribes’ sovereign immunity. The decision has significant implications for tribal creditors...more
On June 15, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that “the Bankruptcy Code unambiguously abrogates the sovereign immunity of all governments, including federally recognized Indian tribes.”1 In other words, Native...more
Section 106(a) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code expressly abrogates the sovereign immunity of "governmental units" for purposes of certain bankruptcy-related litigation. A split of authority concerning whether that abrogation...more
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin after the First Circuit barred the Lac du Flambeau Band from seeking to collect on a $1,600 debt obligation...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians et al. v. Coughlin, No. 22-227, holding that the Bankruptcy Code unambiguously abrogates the sovereign immunity of all...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that because Indian tribes are indisputably governments, the Bankruptcy Code unmistakably abrogates their sovereign immunity to bankruptcy court proceedings....more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued 3 decisions today: Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin,No. 22-227: This statutory interpretation and federal Indian law case addressed the...more