On May 20, 2016, Joao Bock Transaction Systems, LLC (“Debtor” or “Joao Bock”) filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Joao Bock has been described by some as a “patent troll” that engages in litigation over intellectual property disputes in order to extract favorable settlements.
In preparing a statement supporting the determination that recusal from a bankruptcy proceeding was unnecessary, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Richard E. Fehling quoted Master Sergeant Georg Hans Shultz from the television sitcom Hogan’s Heroes: “I KNOW NOTHING! NOTHING!”
Introduction
In the case of Coughlin v. South Canaan Cellular Investments, LLC, C.A. No. 7202-VCL (Del. Ch. July 6, 2012), Respondents made a request for fee shifting under the bad-faith exception to the American Rule. In reviewing this fee shifting request, the Court found that Respondents’ request itself was unfounded, and coupled with Respondents’ own conduct in the case, instead awarded Petitioner his fees in costs in the amount of $17,906.
Introduction
Introduction
On February 10th, electricity operator LSP Energy LP ("LSP") filed chapter 11 petitions for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. As stated in court filings, LSP owns and operates an electricity plant located in Batesville, Mississippi. Aside from its gas-fired electric generation facility, LSP's assets consist primarily of 58 acres of land in which it operates its facility. See Declaration of LSP's President in Support of First Day Motions (the "Declaration" or "Decl.").
Last month, Jeoffrey Burtch (the "Trustee"), as Chapter 7 Trustee for the Opus South Bankruptcy, began filing preference complaints seeking to recover what the Trustee alleges are avoidable transfers under the Bankruptcy Code. For those unfamiliar with the Opus South bankruptcy, the company filed petitions for bankruptcy in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court on April 22, 2009. The Opus South bankruptcy began as a chapter 11 reorganization. However, on August 27, 2010, the Bankruptcy Court entered an order converting the case to a chapter 7 liquidation. The Trustee w
Summary
In a 12 page decision signed July 6, 2011, Judge Walrath of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court granted a motion to dismiss, holding that a complaint that sets forth only conclusory allegations parroting the statutory language of the Bankruptcy Code is insufficient. Judge Walrath’s opinion is available here (the “Opinion”).
Background
Judge Carey released an order amending his Memorandum Opinion dated May 10, 2011 in the New Century TRS Holdings, Inc. bankruptcy. His previous opinion had misstated the amount of a settlement between the two parties in the adversary proceeding which gave rise to the opinion.
Several Installments in this blog series about the long-running, global Ponzi scheme of Bernard L.