On Bankruptcy and Mediation
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 →
By: Donald L. Swanson How can this be?! Federal rules of procedure contain mediation provisions for every bankruptcy-related court, except for the bankruptcy courts themselves. Why this discrimination against bankruptcy courts??!! [By bankruptcy-related courts, I’m referring to: --the bankruptcy courts themselves; --the U.S. district courts, in both their trial and bankruptcy-appeal capacities; --the bankruptcy appellate... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson “[I]t is unlikely that a city could file for bankruptcy solely for the purpose of shedding liability associated with unconstitutional police practices.” --Conclusion in a Report, dated 8/21/2016 and titled: “Who Pays for Police Misconduct in Bankruptcy Cities?” This conclusion is undoubtedly accurate when a City is capable of paying the... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson The American Bankruptcy Institute and St. John’s University School of Law do an annual forty-hour [yes, that’s 40-hour] “Bankruptcy Mediation Training” course. The next course is coming soon -- it’s scheduled for December 11 – 15, 2016. I took this course two years ago – and loved it! Here are some... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson Hypothetical: A City has been struggling for years to provide adequate services. Then, the City and its police officer are sued for violating the plaintiff’s civil rights. A jury verdict is for many-millions of dollars—an amount multiple times the City’s annual budget. Defendants appeal. Plaintiff starts executing on the judgement. So... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson Detroit’s mediated settlements are “an extraordinary accomplishment in bankruptcy and an ideal model for future municipal debt restructurings.” --Judge Steven W. Rhodes, from Detroit Bankruptcy’s Plan Confirmation Ruling A new report “Who Pays for Police Misconduct in Bankrupt Cities” is the title for the report of a study, published on August... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson This is the third-of-three articles on In re Smith, 524 B.R. 689 (Bkrtcy.S.D.Tex. 2015). Sitting Judges as Mediators--for Comparison I've published an earlier article on sitting bankruptcy judges as mediators in bankruptcy cases titled, "What's the Fascination with Requesting an Unnamed 'Sitting Bankruptcy Judge' as Bankruptcy Mediator?" In response to that... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson The first of my three articles on In re Smith, 524 B.R. 689 (Bkrtcy.S.D.Tex. 2015), quotes the Judge’s arguments for opposing mediation. Some of those arguments seem off-base, as I noted in Part 1. Mediator as Professional However, the Judge addresses another issue in that case on which his ruling is more... Continue Reading →
By Donald L. Swanson Not everyone is a fan of mediation. And one Texas Bankruptcy Judge is emphatically opposed. Judicial Actions Here is an unofficial transcription (from the official recording) of an in-court exchange occurring on September 3, 2014, as reported on this webpage: “The Court: . . . Is the Trustee eventually going to... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Conventional thinking (as I understand it) is that mediators should not have a role in preparing a settlement-terms document that concludes a successful mediation. I'm suggesting that a mediator can/should have a limited-and-neutral role in preparing such a document. Here's why. Some Ancient History Its 25 years ago -- or more.... Continue Reading →
MEDIATBANKRY 