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U.S. Supreme Court Disallows Innocent Partner’s Discharge of Debt From Partner’s Fraud

On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court (“the Supreme Court”) issued its Opinion in the matter of Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, No. 21-908, LEXIS 943 (Feb. 22, 2023), holding that per 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A), a partnership member is not entitled to discharge a debt incurred by the fraud of another partnership member, regardless of the fact the innocent member had no knowledge of the fraud.

Background

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, White Collar Crime, Riker Danzig LLP, US Congress, Supreme Court of the United States
11th Circuit Holds No Modification for Principal Residence Mortgage in Bankruptcy

In the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s (“the Court”) recently issued decision In re Bozeman, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 545 (11th Cir., Jan. 10, 2023, No. 21-10987), the Court struck a decisive victory in favor of Mortgage lenders’ rights, holding that in a battle for supremacy between anti-modification protections and a court-confirmed bankruptcy plan, a lender’s rights will always prevail as the victor.

USA, Banking, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Riker Danzig LLP, Eleventh Circuit
Winter Wears On: Celsius Court Rules That Certain Customer Deposits are Property of the Bankruptcy Estate

Introduction

USA, Banking, Insolvency & Restructuring, IT & Data Protection, Real Estate, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, Cryptocurrency, FTX
How Many Connections are Too Many? Bankruptcy Court Finds Multiple Attenuated Connections Not Enough to Warrant Disqualification of Debtors’ Professional

Introduction

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, United States bankruptcy court
Ultra IV: Make-Wholes, Never Say Never Again

Executive Summary

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, Insolvency, U.S. Court of Appeals
SEQUANA: UK Supreme Court Explanation of the “Creditor Duty”

Introduction

Today, the UK Supreme Court considered for the first time the existence, content and engagement of the so-called “creditor duty”: the alleged duty of a company’s directors to consider, or to act in accordance with, the interests of the company’s creditors when the company becomes insolvent, or when it approaches, or is at real risk of, insolvency.

United Kingdom, Company & Commercial, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, Insolvency, UK Supreme Court
A Tale of Fraud and Overzealousness: How the Judicial Shrinkage of “Initial Transferee” Saved an Innocent Immigrant From a Corrupt Car Dealer and a Troublesome Trustee

What happens when a shady businessman transfers $1 million from one floundering car dealership to another via the bank account of an innocent immigrant? Will the first dealership’s future chapter 7 trustee be allowed to recover from the naïve newcomer as the “initial transferee” of a fraudulent transfer as per the strict letter of the law? Or will our brave courts of equity exercise their powers to prevent a most grave injustice?

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP
Recent Developments at the Intersection of Bankruptcy and Environmental Law

Retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber once observed that “issues as to the interplay between environmental law and bankruptcy are among the thorniest on the litigation map.” Difficulties navigating this interplay largely stem from the inherent conflict between the goals of bankruptcy and environmental laws, with the former aimed at providing debtors with a fresh start, while the latter cast a broad net to hold parties (even some innocent parties) responsible for past harm to the environment.

USA, Environment & Climate Change, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, Supply chain, Mediation, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Congress, Supreme Court of the United States
A Foreign Entity May be Subject to U.S. Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction Simply by Utilizing a U.S. Bank Account in a Transaction with Another Foreign Entity

A foreign (non-U.S.) company can be dragged unwillingly into a U.S. bankruptcy case if the bankruptcy court has “personal jurisdiction” over the company.

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, Bankruptcy, United States bankruptcy court
A Foreign Entity May be Subject to U.S. Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction Simply by Utilizing a U.S. Bank Account in a Transaction with Another Foreign Entity

A foreign (non-U.S.) company can be dragged unwillingly into a U.S. bankruptcy case if the bankruptcy court has “personal jurisdiction” over the company.

USA, Insolvency & Restructuring, Litigation, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, United States bankruptcy court