مقدمة

في خطوة مبتكرة نحو ترسيخ مبدأ العدالة الاجتماعية، أعلنت دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة عن إلغاء عقوبة الحبس للمدينين المعسرين. يهدف هذا القرار إلى حماية الأفراد غير القادرين على سداد ديونهم بسبب ظروف خارجة عن إرادتهم، ويشكل انعكاسًا واضحًا لالتزام الإمارات بتطبيق أسس حقوق الإنسان والتسامح. في هذا المقال، سنستعرض تفاصيل هذا القرار وتأثيراته القانونية والاجتماعية على الأفراد والمجتمع.

من هو المدين المعسر؟

Does a Chapter 7 debtor have appellate standing to protect the homestead exemption?

That’s an issue addressed (sort of) in Karamoussayan v Massachusetts Department of Revenue (In re Karamoussayan), Case No. 22-041, First Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (decided April 11, 2024).

Chronology

Here’s a chronology.

September 9, 2022 — Debtor files a voluntary Chapter 13 petition

As the enactment of chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code approaches its 20-year anniversary, U.S. bankruptcy courts are still grappling with some unresolved issues concerning how its provisions should be applied to best harmonize cross-border bankruptcy cases. One of those issues was the subject of a bench ruling handed down by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Insolvency and Restructuring Bulletin

On February 21, 2024, the Hon’ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, Chennai (“NCLAT”) in the case of Kiran Martin Gulla RP of Vardharaja Foods Pvt. Ltd. held that when an extension to complete the corporate insolvency resolution process (“CIRP”) is granted by the Adjudicating Authority, then such period will be calculated form the date on which the Adjudicating Authority passes such an order.

Brief Facts

Gianfranco Lotito and Andrés Ignacio Lafuente Quiroz, Cuatrecasas

This is an extract from the 2024 edition of GRR's the Americas Restructuring Review. The whole publication is available here.

Can non-compete and confidentiality protections in a rejected franchise agreement be discharged in bankruptcy?

The answer is, “No,” according to In re Empower Central Michigan, Inc.[Fn. 1]

Facts

Debtor is an automotive repair shop.

Debtor operates under a Franchise Agreement with Autolab Franchising, LLC. The Franchise Agreement has a non-compete provision, and there is a separate-but-related confidentiality agreement.

Here are a couple discharge-related bankruptcy questions I’ve heard of late, along with an answer.

Question 1. Why are individuals, but not corporations, eligible for a Chapter 7 discharge?

• §727(a)(1) says, “the court shall grant the debtor a discharge, unless—(1) the debtor is not an individual” (emphasis added).

Question 2. Why are individuals, but not corporations, subject to § 523(a) discharge exceptions in Chapter 11?

Under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2), an individual debtor may be denied a discharge, in its entirely, for making a transfer “with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud” a creditor or the trustee.

On April 17, 2023, the Bankruptcy Court for Eastern Michigan ruled:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that the anti-modification provision in the federal Bankruptcy Code applies to loans secured by mixed-use real properties, such as the large parcel at issue here which functioned both for commercial use and as the debtor’s principal residence.

A copy of the opinion in Lee v. U.S. Bank National Association is available at: Link to Opinion.