When is there sufficient evidence to hold that a fiduciary’s debt to an ERISA benefit plan is non-dischargeable in bankruptcy? The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York recently held in In re Kern, Case No. 13-08096 (Dec.
Students have taken on more than $1 trillion in debt to pay for the relentlessly rising costs of higher education. With that much debt outstanding, it’s no surprise that there are increasing numbers of borrowers defaulting on student loan debt, and seeking to discharge that debt by filing for bankruptcy protection. But, as a Wisconsin man recently learned, discharging student loan debt in bankruptcy is no easy feat.
Part 5: Bankruptcy Issues for Secured Creditors
In the final installment of this series on the oil & gas industry, Orrick Restructuring Chair Ron D’Aversa and Restructuring Partner Doug Mintz survey the bankruptcy landscape for the oil & gas industry in the current low-price climate, outlining strategic reasons for bankruptcies, how unencumbered assets make for an atypical bankruptcy case, and how valuation and new borrower options could ultimately lead to adversarial cases.
In Venture Bank v. Lapides, 800 F.3d 442 (8th Cir. 2015), the Eighth Circuit found that a bank could not recover from its borrower and, in fact, had violated the post-discharge injunction by relying on change in terms agreements which were ineffective to reaffirm a debt discharged in the borrower’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Oil and gas price volatility is as much a part of the energy business as drill bits. Few predicted that the current down-cycle would be as long or as deep as it is proving to be. While global events could turn and prices improve, lower prices seem to be a reality for now. Lower prices impact the finances of everyone in the energy industry. Insolvencies, business failures, and bankruptcies are inevitable in this environment; and when they occur, they affect everyone, at all levels and in all aspects of the industry.
Bankruptcy often has a significant impact on the way a business operates. This makes sense, given that businesses going through the bankruptcy process have to figure out a way to make themselves viable after the process is complete. Oftentimes, part of what has to happen for a business to remain viable going forward after a bankruptcy is to sell off assets and portions of the business.
In analyzing the parameters surrounding a state law assignment for benefit of creditors, as well as the extent and limits of the powers of the assignee, the Eleventh Circuit inUllrich v. Welt (In re NICA Holdings, Inc.), 2015 WL 9241140 (11th Cir. 2015) held that an assignee for the benefit of creditors lacks the authority to file a bankruptcy petition on behalf of the assignee.
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently dismissed a debtor’s claims for violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the New Jersey Truth in Consumer Contract Warranty and Notice Act (TCCWNA), holding the debtor’s failure to schedule his lawsuit as an asset of his bankruptcy estate deprived him of standing to later assert the claims.
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently dismissed a debtor's claims for violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the New Jersey Truth in Consumer Contract Warranty and Notice Act (TCCWNA), holding the debtor's failure to schedule his lawsuit as an asset of his bankruptcy estate deprived him of standing to later assert the claims.
A copy of the opinion is available at: Link to Opinion
As we end one of the slowest years for corporate bankruptcy filings, all indicators point to the fact that filings should heat up in 2016. Bankruptcy can be extremely disruptive to clients; however, the following tips may help your clients that could find themselves creditors, or debtors, in the new year.
The Buzz of Burgeoning Bankruptcy Filings