In a highly anticipated decision issued last Thursday (on December 19, 2019), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in In re Millennium Lab Holdings II, LLC that a bankruptcy court may constitutionally confirm a chapter 11 plan of reorganization that contains nonconsensual third-party releases. The court considered whether, pursuant to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462 (2011), Article III of the United States Constitution prohibits a bankruptcy court from granting such releases.

A recent opinion from the Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina adds another chapter to the continuing saga of attacks lodged against the validity of deeds of trust encumbering real property owned by debtors.  In re Deuce Investments, Inc.