On Bankruptcy and Mediation
This did not end well (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Here’s a hard-knocks rule: When you can’t or won’t explain the true reason for taking a position in negotiations or litigation, distrust and suspicion of the worst-possible motives will follow. An Exhibit A for this rule is an opinion issued February 9, 2023,... Continue Reading →
Three out of four? By: Donald L Swanson “Consistently, the highest percentage of filings in the federal docket is bankruptcy cases, which can be up to 75% of filings.” That’s a conclusion by the authors of a 2014 study.[Fn. 1] Bankruptcy-Specific Here are bankruptcy-specific details and explanations from that same study: The number of bankruptcy cases... Continue Reading →
Tribal sovereignty (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson On January 13, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court grants the Petition for a writ of certiorari in Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin, Supreme Court Case No. 22-227, and on January 31, 2023, the Supreme Court enters this order therein: "Set... Continue Reading →
An inexplicable choice? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) has, for a very long time, produced and sold a baby powder product containing talc—a mineral milled into fine powder that includes traces of asbestos. In recent years, that baby powder product has spawned a torrent of lawsuits alleging that it... Continue Reading →
Projected v. Actual (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The phrase “projected disposable income” is a plan confirmation standard in all reorganization chapters of the Bankruptcy Code for individuals and businesses: Chapter 11—in § 1129(a)(15); Subchapter V—in § 1191(c)(2); Chapter 12—in § 1225(b)(1); and Chapter 13—in § 1325(b)(1). Inexplicably, three courts (two bankruptcy... Continue Reading →
Grab what you can get? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Remember the old saying, “Grab what you can get, when you can get it”? Well . . . that old saying is now the federal law of the land, applying exclusively to bankruptcy laws in Alabama and North Carolina. Here’s how. Congress imposed... Continue Reading →
A bankruptcy courtroom By: Donald L Swanson Bankruptcy benefits for individual debtors are a tough sell—always have been. That’s because no one likes bankruptcy—unless they need it. But relieving people from debts in unfortunate circumstances is essential to our collective way of life in these United States. That’s always been true. What follows is the third... Continue Reading →
An early-days U.S. courtroom (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Bankruptcy benefits for individual debtors are a tough sell—always have been. That’s because no one likes bankruptcy—unless they need it. But relieving people from debts in unfortunate circumstances is essential to our collective way of life in these United States. That’s always been true.... Continue Reading →
Ancient Athens (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Bankruptcy benefits for individual debtors are a tough sell—always have been. That’s because no one likes bankruptcy—unless they need it. But relieving people from debts in unfortunate circumstances is essential to our collective way of life in these United States. That’s always been true. What follows... Continue Reading →
Carolina Panthers practice facility after construction halted. By: Donald L Swanson 2022 has been a bad year for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League: Their practice facility project goes into Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 1, 2022 (Case No. 22-10505 in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court); They fire their coach after only five games (one... Continue Reading →
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