On Bankruptcy and Mediation
A time to reflect and refresh (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson It’s helpful, every now and then, to receive a refresher on basic bankruptcy laws. We have such a refresher—on relief from stay rules for pursuing a pre-petition lawsuit—in this opinion: In re Dandurand, Case No. 24-40401, South Dakota Bankruptcy Court (decided May... Continue Reading →
An old path (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson RICO “It shall be unlawful for any person who has received any income derived, directly or indirectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt in which such person has participated as a principal . . . ” From the “Racketeer... Continue Reading →
The water flow continues (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson We have a student loan crisis in these United States. That crisis dates back to 2005, when Congress enacted one of the harshest-imaginable bankruptcy laws for student loans.[Fn. 1] That 2005 law, in bi-partisan fashion: cemented the “certainty of hopelessness” interpretation. existing at that... Continue Reading →
Before the sun sets (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L. Swanson On July 31, 2025, Senators Grassley (R) and Durbin (D) introduce in the U.S. Senate an amendment (S.A.3382) to the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026” (S.2296). Said amendment proposes to reinstate the debt limit for Subchapter V eligibility at $7,500,000,... Continue Reading →
Genetic information? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Here are two legal policies in these United States that can conflict: personally identifiable information (“PII”) needs be protected; and in bankruptcy, asset values need to be maximized. The conflict is this: what happens when value maximization in bankruptcy requires the sale of PII? A recent... Continue Reading →
The better way (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Bankruptcy may not be very good at a lot of things. But one thing bankruptcy is good at is this: selling assets. Bankruptcy sales outside the ordinary course of business traditionally perform well at achieving top dollar. Two separate procedures are authorized for sales of... Continue Reading →
A time to reflect and refresh (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L. Swanson It is helpful, every now and then, to receive a refresher on basic bankruptcy laws. We have such a refresher—on executory contract rejection under § 365—in this recent opinion: In re Dandurand, Case No. 24-40401, South Dakota Bankruptcy Court (decided May... Continue Reading →
A Caucus? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson A study [fn. 1] of mediations in small claims cases reaches this conclusion: The over-use of a caucus format is bad for mediation. Findings Specific findings supporting such conclusion include the following.[Fn. 2] In a small claims mediation, a greater percentage of time spent in caucus:... Continue Reading →
Temporary (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Debtor’s Subchapter V Plan provides for: payment in full of all claims at the end of its three-years term, through a new loan to be guaranteed by Debtor’s insiders; and a temporary injunction, during the three-years term of the Plan, against creditors suing those same insiders on... Continue Reading →
Abuse? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Nobody likes bankruptcy. That’s a truism—and it’s true even though bankruptcy serves an essential role in our market-based and credit-based economy, in which the risk of failure is a constant companion for every business endeavor. But when the dislike of bankruptcy finds its way into judicial rulings... Continue Reading →
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