The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a case of first impression and the first published circuit court opinion to address the issue, recently held that each and every debt collector — not just the first one to communicate with a debtor — must send the debt validation notice required by the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

When Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy on July 18, 2013, it was the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. The bankruptcy court calculated Detroit to be $18.5 billion in debt.

(Bankr. W.D. Ky. Sep. 16, 2016)

In re World Imports Ltd., Civ. A. No. 14-4920, Bankr. No. 13-15929 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 19, 2016) [click for opinion]

The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules has proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the “Bankruptcy Rules”) and the Official Bankruptcy Forms and requested that the proposals be circulated to the bench, bar, and public for comment. The proposed amendments, Advisory Committee reports, and other information are posted on the Judiciary’s website.

Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code, enacted in 1987, provides relief to family farmers facing financial distress. Chapter 12 is available exclusively for family farmers that want to reorganize their financial affairs. While Chapter 12 was very popular in the first few years after its enactment, the number of Chapter 12 cases decreased after the farm economy stabilized. Nevertheless, hundreds of Chapter 12 cases are still filed every year in the United States.

In Weisfelner v. Hofmann (In re Lyondell Chem. Co.), 2016 BL 241310 (S.D.N.Y. July 27, 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York reversed a 2015 ruling by the bankruptcy court presiding over the chapter 11 case of Lyondell Chemical Company (“Lyondell”) that dismissed claims asserted by a chapter 11 plan litigation trustee seeking to avoid as actual fraudulent transfers $6.3 billion in payments made to the former stockholders of Lyondell in connection with its 2007 leveraged buyout (“LBO”) by Basell AF S.C.A. See Weisfelner v.

Section 350(b) of the Bankruptcy Code permits a bankruptcy court under certain circumstances to reopen a bankruptcy case even after the estate has been fully administered and the case is closed. In In re Atari, 2016 BL 125936 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Apr. 20, 2016), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York explored the circumstances under which it may be appropriate to reopen a closed chapter 11 case.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein recently approved SunEdison’s proposed sale of $144 million of solar and wind assets to NRG Energy. The sale continues SunEd’s string of dispositions this year following its April bankruptcy filing. The company’s stunning descent has followed an equally aggressive rise over the preceding three years.

On June 9, 2016, the New York State Court of Appeals, in Ambac Assur. Corp. v. Countrywide Home Loans, 2016 BL 184648 (N.Y. June 9, 2016), reversed a lower court decision, consistent with the overwhelming majority of federal court decisions, that the common interest doctrine under New York law is not limited to communications made in connection with pending or reasonably anticipated litigation.