On Bankruptcy and Mediation
By: Donald L Swanson “And yet, despite the failure of the English experiment with harsh penalties, the desire to punish debtors has remained a part of the culture of bankruptcy to this day.” From Prof. Emily Kadens in “The Last Bankrupt Hanged.” The latest installment of harsh and publicly-visible punishments for bankruptcy crimes involves a... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson When . . . an appeal is from the district court’s affirmance of a bankruptcy court order, a remand to the bankruptcy court for approval of settlement requires coordination between three courts. --Cox v. Nostaw, Inc. (In re Central Illinois Energy Coop.), Case No. 16-1389 (7th Cir., Feb. 8, 2017). Background... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson "Public rights" doctrine enters the bankruptcy scene thirty five years ago in the four-Justice plurality opinion of Northern Pipeline v. Marathon Pipe Line, 458 U.S. 50 (1982). Three Justices in that case write an vigorous dissent to such a use of public rights doctrine, while two other Justices concur with the... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson The basic rule is this: the confidentiality of information held by a mediator is nearly-sacred. The case is In re Anonymous, 283 F.3d 627 (4th Cir. 2002). The question is whether a mediator may divulge, or be compelled to divulge, information from a mediation session. An underlying lawsuit is settled... Continue Reading →
“Hanging was a spectator sport in eighteenth-century England, and . . . the usual crowd turned out to watch [John Perrott] swing. They came to see off not a murderer, rapist, or highwayman, but rather a bankrupt.” E. Kadens, “The Last Bankrupt Hanged: Balancing Incentives in the Development of Bankruptcy Law,” 59 Duke L.J.... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L Swanson I recently stumbled upon a fascinating report of a study on issues and trends called “Successful Mediation in International Relations.” This study looks at 79 international disputes (of which 44 are mediated) occurring during a 45 year period, between 1945 and 1989. The study makes multiple findings about these mediation efforts.... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson Have you ever wondered why Congress, when it adopted the Bankruptcy Code in 1978, limited the term of service for bankruptcy judges to fourteen years? --This term limitation, established in 28 U.S.C. Sec. 157(a)(1), assures that bankruptcy judges are serving as Article I judges under the U.S. Constitution. Life tenure would... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson “We, too, sympathize with the plight of the American farmer. Nevertheless, the solution proposed by the Ahlers majority is contrary to the Bankruptcy Code and a long line of case law.” -- U.S. Supreme Court in Norwest Bank Worthingtonb v. Ahlers, 485 U.S. 197, 209 (1988). The Problem The 1980s are... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson On June 23, 2017, Neil Gorsuch issues his first dissenting opinion as a Supreme Court Justice. The case is Perry v. Merit Systems Protection Board (Supreme Court Case No. 16-399). It's about statutory procedures for litigating Federal employee claims. The dissent by Justice Gorsuch illuminates a comparison of ideas with those... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Advertised Prices: “Haircuts $10 (we add a 3% surcharge if you pay by credit card)” “Sundaes $10 (with a $0.30 surcharge for credit card users)” State Law Violation The State of New York says these advertised prices violate New York General Business Law § 518, which provides: “No seller in any... Continue Reading →
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