Summary: A recent Tennessee case requires secured lenders to verify the debtor's receipt of the notice of a foreclosure sale of personal property.

Summary: As of July 1, 2007, Tennessee has a "new" statute on mechanics' and materialmen's liens. The new statute is the culmination of several years of effort on the part of a special committee of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA). While the new statute replaces the old statute in its entirety, the new statute incorporates many of the provisions of the old statute. As a result, the new statute did not result in the drastic change in the law that the TBA committee originally envisioned.1

A purchaser of a business who fails to consider the seller's Georgia sales and use tax obligations does so at the purchaser's own peril. In the recent tax case of JD Design Group, Inc. v. Graham, the ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court makes that point all too clear.

Background

Your franchisee files bankruptcy; is this good news or bad news? It could be either depending on whether the debtor wishes to keep the franchise in place or plans to let it go. The Bankruptcy Code has special rules on how a debtor can treat this type of agreement where it was entered into prior to the filing of the bankruptcy and remains in effect as of the time the case was filed.

Sales of assets under a confirmed plan in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy are exempt from transfer taxes. Many courts had interpreted the exemption broadly and applied the exemption to sales that occur during a bankruptcy, but before a Chapter 11 plan had actually been confirmed, so long as the sale was generally in furtherance of the ultimate goals of bankruptcy. The Supreme Court imposed a strict interpretation of the statute stating that transfer taxes must be paid unless the sale actually occurs pursuant to an already confirmed plan. Florida Department of Revenue v.

Landlord's Rights when a Tenant files:

In today's difficult economic climate, a growing number of companies have been forced to consider or even file for bankruptcy. Such filings may result in a stay of legal claims against the company, including those brought by current or former employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). But according to the Ninth Circuit, a company's filing for bankruptcy does not protect its individual executives and managers from potential liability under the FLSA.

The collection of foreclosure and bankruptcy-related fees in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases has been the cause of much grief for mortgage servicers of late. Learning how to do it right on the front end of a bankruptcy is the remedy. Unfortunately, the law varies to a wide degree depending upon the state where the borrower resides. This leaves mortgage lenders and servicers with little ability to streamline activities on a nationwide basis.