On Bankruptcy and Mediation
Diminishing effectiveness? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The history of bankruptcy in these United States teaches this: bankruptcy laws can provide an efficient and effective solution for a great variety of financial problems. But bankruptcy laws, in these United States, face significant problems, and their effectiveness is being diminished. First Problem Bankruptcy has... Continue Reading →
"Oh, no!" (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Every now and then, a bankruptcy ruling elicits an “Oh, no!” response from just about everyone. And then, subsequent case law starts rejecting and/or chipping-away at that “On, no!” ruling. We have such an “Oh, no!” situation going on right now on a Subchapter V debt-limit... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson I'm reading a U.S. circuit court's recent bankruptcy opinion that cites Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462 (2011). I'm startled by that and blurt out (to myself), "Who cites Stern anymore?!" and "Is Stern still a thing?!" and "I thought Stern has been narrowed to nearly nothing?!" And then I see... Continue Reading →
California dreamin’ (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The following combination of facts seems odd . . . and confusing. The Uniform Voidable Transactions Act ("UVTA") authorizes (in Sec. 5(b)) unsecured creditors to avoid insider preferences, with a one-year reach back, when the insider "had reasonable cause to believe that the debtor was insolvent"... Continue Reading →
RIP (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson What creditor would ever want to be an involuntary bankruptcy petitioner under these statements of facts and law: Facts: “Here, there is no dispute that the holders of the Notes are owed the entire principal amount plus unpaid interest. . . . But, there is a dispute... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L Swanson Oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. happened on December 4, 2023. Here is a link to the official transcript of such arguments. My Impression I’ve read that transcript—and still don't know what the Court is going to do. But based on the comments/questions of the... Continue Reading →
Sharing secrets with everyone? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson In an opinion dated November 14, 2023, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of an attorney who inadvertently sent a private-thoughts email by “Reply to all.” The opinion is In re OptumRx, Inc., Case No.23-3882. Background The opioid crisis... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson Desperate people do desperate things. And desperation leads even good people astray. So it is in the world of financial stress. Desperate people do desperate things: like providing sloppy financial statements to creditors, failing to assure that all collateral proceeds go to the proper place, and fudging on the truth here-and-there. All... Continue Reading →
Window refreshed? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Everyone knows by now of a problem in the Southern Texas Bankruptcy Court with a judge who resigned over ethics controversies. That resignation did not solve anything for the cases in which that judge was involved. Instead, the controversies continue to mushroom in a variety of... Continue Reading →
Replacing the old (Photo byMarilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson We hear a lot these days about bankruptcy venue abuse via corporate-entity manipulation shortly before bankruptcy filing. Here’s the latest opinion on that subject—which allows Debtor’s choice of venue to stand, based on a newly-created entity: In re Amerifirst Financial, Inc., Case No. 23-11240 in the... Continue Reading →
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