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: 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 →
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 →
By: Donald L. Swanson Bankruptcy courts have drawn the short mediation straw and are lagging behind: --they don’t have a Federal rule of procedure for mediation. Every other court in the bankruptcy-related court system has such a rule: --The U.S. district courts have Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(c)(2) & 53 [as discussed in this article]. --The U.S. courts... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a new ruling, helps point-the-way for cities facing the complexities of Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The Facts On March 28, 2003, three citizens of Vallejo, California, have a violent encounter with two of Vallejo’s police officers. A lawsuit ensues. Then, the City of Vallejo files... Continue Reading →
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