The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico added its voice to the split in judicial authority on whether a lien or similar transfer can be avoided under sections 544, 547, 548 and 549 of the Bankruptcy Code where only the debtor itself may benefit from the avoidance. Judge Thuma in his recent decision in U.S. Glove, Inc. v. Jacobs (In re U.S. Glove, Inc.), AP No. 21-1009, 2021 WL 2405399 (Bankr. D. N.M.
The Uniform Commercial Code was established to provide predictability and conformity in commercial transactions. Certain states have adopted nonstandard UCC provisions, which create an unreliable and unpredictable market for secured creditors. In addition, statutory liens, which are liens arising under federal and state statute, may disrupt the priority of secured creditors’ interest in a debtor’s assets. In re First River Energy, L.L.C. (986 F.3d 914, 917 (5th Cir.
Michael Traison Chicago/NYC – 312.860.4230
Michael Kwiatkowski Garden City – 516.296.9144
On March 19, in a matter of first impression, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (Court) held that triangular setoff is not permissible in bankruptcy due to Bankruptcy Code Section 553(a)’s mutuality requirement, and that parties cannot evade that requirement by contracting around it. See In re Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., 990 F.3d 748 (3d Cir. 2021).
The automatic stay provided under section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code is an injunction, arising when a bankruptcy case is filed, which prevents all proceedings or actions against the debtor or the property of the estate without court permission - the so-called “lifting of the stay”.[1]
When is a loan not a loan? The SDNY Bankruptcy Court in In Re: Live Primary, LLC[1] held that a $6 million start-up loan was actually an equity contribution after analyzing the terms of the transaction and the intent of the parties. The court recharacterized the loan as equity given the alleged loan functioned as an equity investment would be expected to function.
In American jurisprudence, resolution of disputes often involves the use of important tools to obtain information necessary to achieving a client’s goals. These tools are collectively known as “discovery.” Discovery is most often used in litigation; however, it may also be used as part of the bankruptcy process, without the need for a pending lawsuit.
2020 was a transformative year for the consumer financial services world. As we navigated an unprecedented volume of industry regulation, Troutman Pepper leveraged our decades of experience and legal know how to help clients find successful resolutions and stay ahead of the compliance curve.
A bill introduced by Democratic U.S. senators looks to make it easier for Americans to discharge student loans and medical debt. If passed as currently written, the Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2021 would drastically change the U.S. bankruptcy system by removing certain procedural hurdles that make the bankruptcy process complex and by creating a clearer path to discharging debts that impact millions of Americans.
The imperative “justice, justice shall you pursue” is nowhere better illustrated than in the application of deadlines to perform an act, including filing dates, limitations dates, due dates for filing appeals, and deadlines for filing claims. Courts sometimes exercise their equitable jurisdiction rather than follow the literal language of rules of procedure.