By: Donald L Swanson The Bankruptcy Code is in a precarious position.  It is a “transformative piece of legislation,” but it is without a strong agency in the Executive Branch to interpret it, enforce it, and promote its interests. [Fn. 1] Each Federal agency is part of the Executive Branch and has an area of responsibility... Continue Reading →

By: Donald L. Swanson On June 3, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in the Taggart v. Lorenzen case. The Question The question before the Supreme Court, in Taggart v. Lorenzen, “concerns the legal standard for holding a creditor in civil contempt when the creditor attempts to collect a debt in violation of a... Continue Reading →

By: Donald L. Swanson “Appellate deadlines cannot serve their purpose when their trigger is unclear.” --U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ritzen v. Jackson. This should be interesting. On May 20, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the denial of a motion for relief from automatic bankruptcy stay is appealable as a... Continue Reading →

By: Donald L. Swanson “Rejection of a contract—any contract—in bankruptcy operates not as a rescission but as a breach.” Essential declaration of law from U.S. Supreme Court opinion on trademark issues in Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, (Case No. 17-1657), issued May 20, 2019. Photocopier Lease Illustration The Supreme Court’s opinion illustrates and clarifies how... Continue Reading →

By: Donald L. Swanson “Movants are asking this Court to extend the holdings of [Stern v. Marshall and Granfinanciera] in order to find that 28 U.S.C. § 157(a) is unconstitutional . . . The Court declines to make that leap.” Chief Judge Christopher S. Sontchi, Delaware Bankruptcy Court, in Paragon v. Noble Corporation, A.P. No. 17-51882,... Continue Reading →

Note:  This article was published, originally, by the American Bar Association, in its "Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases," Issue No. 7, Vol 46, page 50, on April 15, 2019.  By: Donald L. Swanson CASE AT A GLANCE Let’s say you sue a defendant in state court for injunctive relief. The defendant then files bankruptcy and receives... Continue Reading →

By: Donald L. Swanson The Tribune Company (yes, the formerly-venerable Chicago Tribune newspaper) filed bankruptcy in 2008, after being crippled by a corporate raid in 2007 Here’s What Happened Tribune’s dominant shareholders (they owned 33%) wanted to cash out their shares of stock. So they engineered a scheme, whereby Tribune borrowed money to buy its own... Continue Reading →