On Bankruptcy and Mediation
By Donald L. Swanson On May 28, 2019, a U.S. District Judge issued an Order insisting that the Defendant pay mediator fees of $1,850.00 for a cancelled mediation. The case is Linares v. Suarez, in the U.S. District Court for Florida’s Middle District (Case No. 8:18-cv-985). Facts Here’s what happened. --Mediation Scheduled. Linares sued Suarez for... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L Swanson The Bankruptcy Code is in a precarious position. It is a “transformative piece of legislation,” but it is without a strong agency in the Executive Branch to interpret it, enforce it, and promote its interests. [Fn. 1] Each Federal agency is part of the Executive Branch and has an area of responsibility... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Many mediators, in a variety of contexts, are not lawyers. In the mediation of lawsuit disputes, however, lawyers predominate. And that makes practical sense—especially in complex cases. But in lawsuits, even complex ones, the mediator is not required to be an attorney. At least, that’s the opinion of the Attorney General for... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson “Kick the can down the road” is an adage that means this: “to delay or avoid dealing with a problem.” Before Bankruptcy That’s what family businesses in financial stress do, outside of bankruptcy. They deal with unhappy creditors by kicking the can down the road. Here’s why: cash resources are tight, and... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Making an affirmative choice among alternatives is one way to make a decision. Rejecting an alternative is another way. Research Results Research shows that these two differing ways of making decisions often produce differing results. That’s because people “adopt different selection criteria” and “allocate different weights and choices” in these two ways... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson On June 3, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in the Taggart v. Lorenzen case. The Question The question before the Supreme Court, in Taggart v. Lorenzen, “concerns the legal standard for holding a creditor in civil contempt when the creditor attempts to collect a debt in violation of a... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson “Soloman’s Paradox” = “we tend to reason more wisely about other people’s problems than our very own” (aka, “Plenty of wisdom for others; but not for oneself”). [Fn. 1] “King Solomon, the third leader of the Jewish Kingdom, is thought of as a sage and a man of great wisdom. People traveled... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Business reorganization in bankruptcy gets a bad rap. Here’s why: “bankruptcy” deals with failed promises to pay (if you google synonyms for “failure,” the first word to appear is “bankruptcy") and implies a moral shortfall in the minds of many. That’s unfortunate because business reorganization can be a good thing. When utilized... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Mediation has become the go-to process for dealing with large-scale sexual abuse claims in bankruptcy. The latest example is the Chapter 11 case of In re USA Gymnastics, filed on December 5, 2018, at Case No. 18-09108, in the Southern Indiana Bankruptcy Court. Background USA Gymnastics is where Larry Nassar volunteered as... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson “Appellate deadlines cannot serve their purpose when their trigger is unclear.” --U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ritzen v. Jackson. This should be interesting. On May 20, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the denial of a motion for relief from automatic bankruptcy stay is appealable as a... Continue Reading →
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