On Bankruptcy and Mediation
Wading in—again (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Three InfoWars entities file voluntary bankruptcy on April 17, 2022, under Subchapter V of Chapter 11.[Fn.1] And a storm of controversy immediately erupts on whether the three entities actually qualify for Subchapter V relief. On June 10, 2022, the Bankruptcy Court enters an “Agreed Order Dismissing... Continue Reading →
Re-envisioning? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson State laws on assignments for benefit of creditors (“ABC”) have been around for a long time. But times have changed over the last half-century. Specifically, the bankruptcy alternative has changed dramatically: from a harsh remedy under the Bankruptcy Act of 1898;to the current Bankruptcy Code, with its... Continue Reading →
Bifurcated? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson When an enforcement authority issues guidelines to its personnel for making enforcement decisions and makes those guidelines public, all who are subject to that authority should sit-up and take notice. On June 10, 2022, the U.S. Trustee’s Office, Department of Justice, issues “Guidelines” to its personnel... Continue Reading →
Contempt of the rules of road? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson “the specter of sanctions and contempt spawns ancillary litigation that often eclipses the issues at the heart of the underlying dispute.” --From In re A.T. Reynolds & Sons, Inc., 452 B.R. 374, 376 (S.D.N.Y. 2011), reversing a Bankruptcy Court order of contempt... Continue Reading →
Preempting? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The interface between federal bankruptcy law and similar state laws has a long history, going back to at least 1819, when the U.S. Supreme Court rules that a state insolvency law: may discharge a person from debtor’s prison; butmay not discharge that person’s debt.[Fn. 1] A more... Continue Reading →
An effective tool (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Mediation-in-bankruptcy has been an effective tool for resolving mass tort cases. That effectiveness has been for the benefit of all parties involved, such as: helping to maximize recoveries for tort claimants;helping to allocate scarce funds among competing tort claimants and other creditors; andhelping to keep... Continue Reading →
The same . . . or different? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson “2 There is one inconsequential difference — § 1228(a) refers to debt ‘of a kind specified,’ while § 1192(2) refers to debt ‘of the kind specified.’” [Fn. 1] This "inconsequential difference" quotation, from footnote 2 in the Fourth Circuit’s Cantwell v.... Continue Reading →
Not tough and firm (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Being “tough and firm” in negotiations: Takes “less effort than being warm and friendly”; Results “in better financial outcomes; has “no apparent social cost”; butis commonly viewed, incorrectly, as less effective than “warm and friendly.” Such are the conclusions drawn from a four-part study [Fn. 1]... Continue Reading →
Public rights? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Justice Stephen G. Breyer is now retired from the U.S. Supreme Court, serving from August 3, 1994, to June 30, 2022. One of his legacies—and an exceedingly important one—is this: he has worked, successfully, to erase “public rights” from the lexicon of controlling bankruptcy law. What... Continue Reading →
Waived protections? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L. Swanson Is the § 363(m) limit on appeal of a sale order “subject to waiver”? That’s the essential question before the U.S. Supreme Court in MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC, Case No. 21-1270 (certiorari granted June 27, 2022). A deep circuit split exists on... Continue Reading →
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