On October 26, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, to decide the issue of whether a debtor-licensor’s rejection of a trademark license agreement under section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code terminates the rights of the licensee to use the applicable trademarks. No. 17-1657, 2018 WL 2939184 (U.S. Oct. 26, 2018). The appeal arises from a decision by the U.S.
Dixie Electric, LLC, along with twelve affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Code for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-12477). Dixie Electric, based in Houston, Texas, is a provider of electrical infrastructure materials and services to the upstream and midstream oil industries.
A license agreement “deemed rejected by operation of law” could not be acquired under a court-approved asset purchase agreement, held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Oct. 29, 2018. In re Provider Meds LLC, 2018 WL 5317445, *2 (5th Cir. Oct. 29, 2018). Although the acquirer claimed “that it purchased a patent license from [the] debtors in bankruptcy sales of their estates,” the court explained that “a rejected executory contract … could not have been transferred by the bankruptcy sales in question … .” Id., at *1.
The Bottom Line
The Northern District of Illinois recently held that a collection letter sent to a consumer’s attorney seeking payment on a debt discharged in bankruptcy did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based on the “competent lawyer” standard. The case is Grajny v. Credit Control, LLC, No. 18-C-2719, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173682, 2018 WL 4905019 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 9, 2018).
Started as a mail-order retailer, evolved to brick-and-mortar stores in urban areas and expanded to a big-box retailer through merger, Sears is now facing the most turbulent time in its history. On October 15, 2018, Sears Holdings Corp.—the holding company of Sears and Kmart—along with its affiliated entities, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
In In re Sandia Tobacco Mfrs, Inc., 2018 WL 4964295 (Bankr. D.N.M. Oct. 12, 2018), the Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico recently held that certain outstanding “assessments” arising under the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004, 7 U.S.C. §§ 518-519(a), and its accompanying regulations were excise taxes entitled to priority under Section 507(a)(8)(E) of the Bankruptcy Code.
Happy birthday, Aubrey Drake Graham. Most people know Mr. Graham strictly by his middle name. The Canadian rapper Drake has carved out a hugely successful career for himself. He sells lots and lots of records – or whatever it is that they sell in the music business these days. Surprise: Drake’s music isn’t exactly our thing. We still play the Beatles more than anything else, we sing along with Crosby, Stills, & Nash in the car, and we have difficulty naming songs post-dating Nirvana.
Demonstrating heightened enforcement efforts by some state regulators, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed suit against a pair of debt collection companies and their owner, asserting the defendants were operating without a license in violation of state law.
The lawsuit is only the latest example of state attorneys general (AGs) stepping in to fill the void as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) has slowed down its enforcement efforts.
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