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
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
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
On January 13, 2023, the Supreme Court granted the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians’ Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to resolve the split of circuits on whether Section 106 of the Bankruptcy Code...more
On Friday, January 13, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in eight cases: U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc.; U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., Nos. 21-1326, 22-111: These consolidated...more
Deepening a split of circuits, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Bankruptcy Code waived the sovereign immunity of Native American Tribes. The May 6, 2022 opinion by Judge Sandra L. Lynch sided with the Ninth...more
Kohut v. Wayne County Treasurer (In re Lewiston), 528 B.R. 387 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2015) – The debtor made property tax payments on behalf of several real estate projects. The chapter 7 trustee sought to recover those...more