On Bankruptcy and Mediation
By: Matthew Gillespie For many, if not most of us, our homes are our biggest assets. The inverse of this is also true – our mortgages are often our biggest liabilities. It makes sense, then, that in Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcies, a debtor’s mortgage can have a major impact on the success (or lack thereof)... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson "Chapter 11 plans are inherently suitable for mediation. After all, chapter 11 success is generally defined as a confirmed consensual plan of reorganization, not a contested confirmation battle; that is, it is a settlement, not a victory. " --Hon. Lisa Hill Fenning, retired bankruptcy judge and Partner at Arnold... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson More than three years of wasted litigation: that’s what it looks like from the outside. The parties had been fighting, in 2012 and early 2013, about a management agreement for operating a casino. But in June of 2013 the fight changes from a dispute over the management agreement to a dispute... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson “You don’t need my permission. Just click your heels together three times and say, ‘There is no place like mediation.’” --U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Benjamin Goldgar, In re Caesars Entertainment hearing on 2/18/2016. Despite such a statement, the Bankruptcy Court in Chicago had already, prior to February 2016, revoked its local rules... Continue Reading →
By: Don Swanson I’m always hesitant to say something doesn’t exist . . . because I might have missed it. --Nevertheless, I’m going to give it a shot, knowing I can, later, edit-out any error brought to my attention. My focus, here, is on whether bankruptcy courts within the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals system (the... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Alternative dispute resolution provisions (“ADR”) involving arbitration and compromises have been part of U.S. bankruptcy laws since at least 1898. ADR Bankruptcy History – From 1898 An 1899 publication of the U.S. “National Bankruptcy Act of 1898” provides for “Arbitration of Controversies” and for “Compromises” in consecutive sections as follows: --“§... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Four law firms are squabbling over how to divide a $20 million attorney fees fund in a bankruptcy case. [Insert your own derisive epithet here.] The Facts A two-year and multi-session mediation results in settlements of asbestos-related claims. One such settlement involves a $90 million payment from an insurance company, $70... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson C. Edward Dobbs, Partner at Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs, is a leading expert... Continue Reading →
Judge Goldgar is right. Bankruptcy Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar, of Chicago, received lots of grief in recent days over the resignation of the Caesars mediator. The resignation letter focuses on "atypical" language on mediation confidentiality that Judge Goldgar used to support his order terminating a stay of legal action against the Caesars parent company. Here's... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson “Food deserts” are “places where many residents don’t have access to a full-service grocery store within a mile of home in urban areas or 10 miles in rural ones.” --Wall Street Journal, 7/12/2015 “Mediation deserts” are courts that don’t (or won’t) provide access, by rule or statute, to mediation as a... Continue Reading →
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