On Bankruptcy and Mediation
By Donald L. Swanson Have you ever solved one problem but created another in the process? That's, of course, not very helpful. But that’s exactly what the U.S. Supreme Court did a couple years ago in Husky International Electronics, Inc. v. Ritz, 136 S.Ct. 1581 (2016). And ramifications continue, to this day, in a three-way split... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Football fan: “You just cost me $1,000.” Coach Tom Osborne: “I didn’t make the bet.” Steven M. Sipple, Lincoln Journal Star, May 15, 2018. Question: Can Congress command a state’s lawmakers to outlaw sports gambling? Answer: The U.S. Supreme Court says: "No," Congress has no such authority under the U.S. Constitution; but Congress... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson “Marley was dead, to begin with . . . dead as a doornail.” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol About a year ago, I published this linked article declaring, “the ‘public rights’ doctrine for bankruptcy court jurisdiction, while always tenuous, in now dead and buried.” Now, I’m restating that declaration—this time based on... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson In our uncommonly vicious and partisan political culture, it’s refreshing to hear oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on a non-partisan and apolitical issue. Here’s one: --Oral arguments held on April 17, 2018, in the bankruptcy case of Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, Case No. 16-1215 [here’s the transcript] .... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson A new, and unanimous, decision from the U.S. Supreme Court is Hall v. Hall, Case No. 16-1150 (Decided March 27, 2018). A first read of this opinion seems like a, “What’s the big deal here?” The opinion: Is about a technical issue of appeal procedure; Reaches back, for historical authority, to... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson On April 3, 2018, Justices Kennedy and Thomas issue this Statement for the U.S. Supreme Court in Deutsche Bank v. McCormick, Case No. 16-317 [photo of entire Statement is above]: “consideration of the petition for certiorari will be deferred . . . given the possibility that there might not be a quorum... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Whenever a court goes out of its way to say in an opinion, “We aren’t deciding issues X and Y,” it’s time to take notice. The omitted issues must be significant, in some way, to what’s being decided; otherwise, there’s no reason to mention them. And when the opinion is from the... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson On March 5, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issues its latest bankruptcy opinion in the case of U.S. Bank v. Village at Lakeridge, LLC., Case no. 15-1509. The Facts Village at Lakeridge has a single owner: MBP Equity Partners. And it has two creditors: it owes “over $10 million” to U.S. Bank... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson On February 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an eagerly awaited bankruptcy opinion on the § 546(e) safe harbor defense against trustee avoidance actions. The new opinion is Merit Management Group, LP v. PTI Consulting, Inc., Case No. 16-784. The opinion, at first read, appears to dramatically narrow the reach and effect... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L Swanson On Friday, January 12, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling (In re Appling), Case No. 16-1215, to resolve an indistinct legal standard. The case is about a statute of frauds for nondischargeability. Generally, a statute of frauds requires that certain promises be in... Continue Reading →
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