In a decision that may have significant practical implications to the practice of bankruptcy law, the U.S. Supreme Court recently declared, on constitutional grounds, that a bankruptcy court cannot exercise jurisdiction over a debtor’s state law counterclaims, thus considerably limiting the ability of the bankruptcy court to fully and finally adjudicate claims in a bankruptcy case. Stern v. Marshall, No. 10-179 (June 23, 2011).

The Bankruptcy Code provides several protections for parties that have supplied goods or services to a debtor on credit prior to the debtor’s bankruptcy petition date.

Two items of interest in the on-going saga of intellectual property enforcement against bankrupt Collezione Europa and its principals, Paul and Leonard Frankel.

FTC Amends Telemarketing Sales Rule: On July 29, 2010, the FTC announced new amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule that will prohibit debt relief companies from collecting advanced fees.