On Bankruptcy and Mediation
11 U.S.C. Sec. 1183(b)(7) — Duty to facilitate The following article is reprinted with permission from the American Bankruptcy Institute—originally published in its Mediation Committee Newsletter. Here is a link to the original publication, dated 6/30/2021. By: Hon. Louis H. Kornreich, David A. Mawhinney & Donald L Swanson The Bankruptcy Code directs the trustee in... Continue Reading →
Webinar -- Promotional Notification By: Donald L Swanson What follows is a script (more or less) of my portion of a panel presentation in an webinar, presented on September 14, 2021, sponsored by the Mediation Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute ("ABI"), titled "Facilitation Skills for Subchapter V Trustees." A video of the webinar appears at... Continue Reading →
Protecting (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Did Congress intend that Subchapter V provide greater bankruptcy protection to corporations than to individuals? The answer is, “Yes,” according to a recent line of opinions: it’s easier for a corporation to be “engaged in business or commercial activities” than it is for the corporation’s owners; andthe... Continue Reading →
He had authority to act (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson We are starting to get appellate opinions on Subchapter V cases and issues. Here is one of the earliest: In re SSRE Holdings, LLC, Case No. CC-21-1027, Ninth Circuit BAP (issued August 26, 2021, “Not for Publication”). The issue in SSRE Holdings is... Continue Reading →
A casino (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The opinion is In re Robinson, Case No. 20-11471, Kansas Bankruptcy Court (issued August 20, 2021, Doc. 72). The issue involves gambling by the Debtor while in a Subchapter V bankruptcy case. The U.S. Trustee moves to dismiss Debtor’s Subchapter V case for “gross mismanagement,” because... Continue Reading →
De facto end of the harbor? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson A Subchapter V trustee “acts more like a mediator than an adversary”; and A “substantial part of the Subchapter V trustee’s pre-confirmation role” is to “serve as a de facto mediator between the debtor and its creditors.” --From In re 218 Jackson... Continue Reading →
Old and bad (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson “Projected disposable income” is a plan confirmation provision appearing in all reorganization chapters of the Bankruptcy Code: in § 1129(a)(15) for Chapter 11;in § 1191(c)(2) for Subchapter V; in § 1225(b)(1) for Chapter 12; andin § 1325(b)(1) for Chapter 13. Here’s an example of... Continue Reading →
Don’t sleep on your rights (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Ooops! Debtor’s counsel fails to apply its pre-petition retainer to its pre-petition fee before filing Debtor’s Subchapter V Petition. The result is a reduced fee claim (to a $9,999 amount, as authorized by § 1195) and a fight over the post-petition application of... Continue Reading →
A special purpose: gas mask for a WWI horse By: Donald L Swanson It’s great to see a bankruptcy process that works—i.e., where both the debtor and its creditors are on board with a course of bankruptcy action. An excellent and recent example of such a thing involves a PPP loan, in which Debtor: dismisses its... Continue Reading →
A link to the past (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Formerly-successful entrepreneurs have always been treated harshly in these United States. That may be hard to believe, given our market and credit economy and the importance of small businesses to it. But it’s true. And prejudices against formerly-successful entrepreneurs remain in today’s bankruptcy statutes.... Continue Reading →
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