Although not intended to be classics of literature, we have found tales of two municipalities and their Chapter 9 bankruptcies. One was warm and prosperous and on the West Coast, whose housewives we have followed in the age of reality TV. The other was from a grittier place in the midwest with industrial gothic scenes and rappers who have captured its spirit. Please join us as we discuss the post Chapter 9 filing bond disclosures of Orange County, CA and the City of Detroit.
In Investors Bank v. Trylon/Crest Construction, Inc., 2016 WL 5922751 (N.J. App. Div. Oct. 12, 2016), the Appellate Division affirmed the Trial Court’s discharge of a rent receiver over the defendant’s objection that the receiver was required to make certain payments to the defendant. In October 2008, the defendant borrowed $5,200,000 from the plaintiff, Investors Bank (the “Bank”), secured by a first mortgage on property owned by the defendant. In addition, the mortgage granted the Bank the right to have a rent receiver appointed for the property.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that a bank’s lawsuit against the husband of a debtor who had filed for bankruptcy did not violate the co-debtor stay because the husband’s credit card debts were not a consumer debt for which the debtor was personally liable.
Recent changes to New York’s foreclosure statutory scheme are set to go into effect on December 20, 2016. These wide-ranging revisions include the following amendments:
AN FTI CONSULTING White PAPER DECEMBER 2016
...accounting standards applying to recognition and measurement of a company's assets can be complex and need to be interpreted and applied with care to ensure the valuations are fit for purpose
Asset-based valuations: Valuation floor or flawed valuation?
Mark Bezant and David Rogers
Synopsis
(7th Cir. Dec. 22, 2016)
(Bankr. E.D. Ky. Dec. 27, 2016)
The bankruptcy court dismisses the creditor’s non-dischargeability complaint under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A) and (a)(6). The creditor conceded that the debt was based on a breach of contract claim. However, the creditor alleged the debt was converted to a non-dischargeable debt based on the debtor’s post-judgment efforts to avoid collection. The court finds that the creditor failed to state a claim in part because the alleged behavior did not result in the debt sought to be declared non-dischargeable. Opinion below.
Judge: Schaaf
In a recent case arising out of the bankruptcy of the Yellowstone Mountain Club, a private ski club for the ultrawealthy, Blixseth v. Brown (In re Yellowstone Mountain Club, LLC) (9th Cir. Nov. 28, 2016), the Ninth Circuit held that plaintiff needed the bankruptcy court’s permission to bring post-petition claims against the chair of Yellowstone’s Unsecured Creditors Committee (“UCC”).
On November 21, 2016, in a case entitled In re Monson,1 the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Bankruptcy Court's decision,2 which held that a debtor's conduct constituted a willful and malicious injury to a creditor within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(6), because the debtor injured the creditor's right to recover its loan, the injury was intended, and the debtor was conscious of his wrongdoing. Thus, the debt was nondischargeable under 523(a)(6).
Exceptions to the Dischargeability of Debt under Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code
In a recent decision in the Southern District of New York, the court addressed a challenge to a secured-for-unsecured debt exchange offer that raised and answered a host of questions on the potential vulnerability of offers of this type. In Waxman v. Cliffs Natural Resources (SDNY December 6, 2016), the court dealt with standing to pursue a challenge; TIA §316(b) after Marblegate and MeehanCombs/Caesars; the no-action clause and allegations of conflict of interest of the trustee; the remedies clause; and discrimination against non-QIBs.