On Bankruptcy and Mediation
https://youtu.be/W23y7atJORM Debtor digital signatures -- some background Reprinted with permission from the ABI Journal, Vol. XXXVIX, No. 1, January 2020. Here is a link to the original publication. Debtors sign their federal tax returns digitally all the time. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows digital signing, without reservation; the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutes digital... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L Swanson A family business in Chapter 11 (whether in Subchapter V or a regular Chapter 11) has one task that stands above all others in importance. It’s this: The business must generate a positive cash flow. The Lawyer’s Impossible Task All the favorable bankruptcy rules that exist, and all the favorable bankruptcy court... Continue Reading →
There’s no place like home (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Debtor files Chapter 7 in the Eastern New York Bankruptcy Court. The Chapter 7 Trustee sues Defendant in that same Bankruptcy Court to recover an $11,408.55 preference. Defendant resides in California, not New York, and is not an insider. So, Defendant contends that... Continue Reading →
Must prepare to perform (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson (b) . . . the trustee may, based on reasonable due diligence in the circumstances of the case and taking into account a party’s known or reasonably knowable affirmative defenses under subsection (c), avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property—... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L Swanson It happens. There are businesses in financial stress who, for a variety of reasons, can’t qualify for Subchapter V. Owners want to save the business, but Subchapter V is not available. Reasons why Subchapter V might be unavailable include: Debtor has more than $7.5 million of qualifying debt and can’t get enough... Continue Reading →
Uniformity (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Bankruptcy courts in 48 of our 50 United States are administered by the U.S. Trustee program; while bankruptcy courts in the remaining 2 states (Alabama and North Carolina) are under the Bankruptcy Administrator program. This has been true since the 1980s. The primary differences in the two... Continue Reading →
Uniformity (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The U.S. Constitution requires that bankruptcy laws be “uniform . . . throughout the United States.” Among such uniformity requirements is this: rulings on core bankruptcy issues must be subject to meaningful appellate review—all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Explaining this requirement is the dissent... Continue Reading →
Unbiased justice (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The Acting Solicitor General is invited to file a brief in this case expressing the views of the United States [on whether to grant the Petition for Writ of Certiorari]. --From U.S. Supreme Court docket entry dated October 5, 2020, in Deutsche Bank v. McCormick Foundation... Continue Reading →
A conduit (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By Donald L. Swanson Under the Bankruptcy Code, an “initial transferee” is strictly liable for a fraudulent transfer—there is no good faith, subsequent advance, or similar defense. Fortunately for some fraudulent transfer defendants, it’s possible to be the “recipient” of a transfer as a mere conduit, without becoming a “transferee”... Continue Reading →
Voting (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson In Subchapter V of the Bankruptcy Code, the “Post-Petition Disclosure and Solicitation” provisions of § 1125 do not apply without a specific court order (see § 1181(b)). Voting Questions So, a question exists on how the plan voting provisions of § 1126 and Fed.Bankr.R. 3018 might apply... Continue Reading →
MEDIATBANKRY 