In the case involving Precision Business Consulting LLC (Precision) and debtor-appellee Jill Suzann Medley, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit delivered a decisive opinion that sheds light on the treatment of factoring companies as lenders within the context of bankruptcy proceedings. This analysis emerges from Precision’s appeal against a civil contempt order for its willful violation of the automatic stay provision under 11 U.S.C. § 362, operational during Medley’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition.

Across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the justice system. In many State and Federal courts, jury trials have been suspended and court hearings are limited to only criminal and emergency civil matters. Yet the Bankruptcy Courts, given the unique role they play in times of financial distress, are largely open for business, relying on electronic filing and conducting hearings by teleconference.

The recent Great Recession and the wave of bankruptcy filings that accompanied it presented a number of challenges for landlords and tenants. Yet, as the economy has recovered, we still continue to see restaurant and retail chains turn to the bankruptcy court’s for relief. Over the past year, a number of restaurants and retailers filed bankruptcy petitions. For example, American Apparel, Radio Shack, Anna’s Linens and Hot Dog on a Stick have sought protection from the bankruptcy courts.

On June 1, 2015, the United States Supreme Court in Bank of America, N.A. v. Caulkett, 575 U.S. ____ (2015), unanimously held that a Chapter 7 debtor cannot strip off wholly “underwater” liens secured by the debtor’s property. In Caulkett, the debtor’s property was subject to two liens when the bankruptcy case was commenced. Since the obligation owed on the first lien exceeded the value of the property, the second lien was underwater and therefore had no value.