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In March 2015 in Bank of America NA v Caulkett the Supreme Court considered whether debtors in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation could invoke Section 506(d) of the Bankruptcy Code to void or 'strip off' the junior mortgage liens on their homes when the senior mortgage debt exceeded their homes' current value (for further details please see "Supreme Court considers junior liens on 'underwater' property").

Nearly four years after its decision in Stern v. Marshall raised new doubts about the place of bankruptcy courts in our legal system, the Supreme Court has finally put those doubts to rest. This week, in Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, No. 13-935, the Court held that even for claims that must otherwise be resolved by an Article III court, a bankruptcy court may still adjudicate the matter based on consent.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) published the ISDA 2014 Resolution StayProtocol (the “Protocol”) on November 12, 2014 in response to continued efforts by regulators to build additional flexibility into the statutory regimes that would apply in the event of the insolvency of a major financial institution.