On Bankruptcy and Mediation
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 →
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 →
Good faith v. Bad faith? By: Donald L Swanson Is an involuntary bankruptcy, filed by an owner/creditor of the Debtor, filed in good faith or in bad faith? That’s the question before the U.S. Supreme Court on which it denied certiorari on October 30, 2023 (Wortley v. Juranitch, Case No. 23-211). Here’s the gist of the... Continue Reading →
A crusade? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The U.S. Trustee is on a crusade to eradicate every type of third-party release from all Chapter 11 bankruptcy plans—no matter what the facts or circumstances might be. It’s a policy based on the idea that, if the Bankruptcy Code doesn’t specifically and explicitly authorize something,... Continue Reading →
These buildings are “arising in”? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson A bankruptcy court has jurisdiction to dismiss a legal malpractice claim of non-debtor plaintiffs against non-debtor attorneys. That’s the ruling in Murray v. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (In re Murray Energy Holdings Co.), Adv. Pro. No. 22-2007, Southern Ohio Bankruptcy Court (decided... Continue Reading →
Request denied? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Bankruptcy Court denies a party’s request to enforce arbitration of a legal malpractice claim—and then dismisses that malpractice claim for failure to state a claim. The opinion is Murray v. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (In re Murray Energy Holdings Co.), Adv. Pro. No. 22-2007, Southern... Continue Reading →
Apathy? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Here’s the latest opinion on a controversial question: In re Franco’s Paving LLC, Case No. 23-20069, Southern Texas Bankruptcy Court, (decided 10/5/2023; Doc. 74). The Question & Answer Voter apathy is a problem in Subchapter V cases. That apathy is in the form of creditors failing or... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L Swanson Here’s the latest on tort claims against Johnson & Johnson: a $223.8 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson ($37.3 compensatory + $186.5 punitive) in favor of four plaintiffs (i.e., $55.95 million each) is . . . reversed. The reversal opinion is Barden v. Johnson & Johnson, et al., Docket Nos. A-0047-20 thru... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L Swanson In Purdue Pharma, the U.S. Supreme Court grants certiorari on this question: “Whether the Bankruptcy Code authorizes a court to approve, as part of a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, a release that extinguishes claims held by nondebtors against nondebtor third parties, without the claimants’ consent” (emphasis... Continue Reading →
An old, long and relatively straight road (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The absolute priority rule [Fn. 1] has been a problem for businesses in bankruptcy—for a very long time! The rule dates back to at least 1899, when the U.S. Supreme Court prevents certain shareholder actions “until the interests of unsecured creditors... Continue Reading →
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