Supervision? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Congress must be allowed “to fashion a modern bankruptcy system which places the basic rudiments of the bankruptcy process in the hands of an expert equitable tribunal.” --from Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg, 492 U.S. 33, 94 (1989) (Blackmun dissent, emphasis added). Justice Blackmun had a point—back in 1989—that... Continue Reading →

An Illinois city (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson An assignment for benefit of creditor (“ABC”) is, historically, a nonjudicial process for administering the affairs of a failed business. ABC laws are rooted in English common law and predate enactment of federal bankruptcy laws in the U.S.[Fn. 1] An ABC is made by a... 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 →