♫ “Girl, it’s easy to love me now.

Would you love me if I was down and out?

Would you still have love for me?” ♫

-50 Cent, 21 Questions

(S.D. Ind. Feb. 2, 2016)

The district court grants the creditor’s motion to dismiss the appeal as untimely. The pro se debtors filed their notice of appeal of a stay relief order three days after the 14-day period per Bankruptcy Rule 8002 had expired. The debtors’ argument that the motion for relief from stay was not served upon them properly was not supported by the record and even if the allegations were true, they failed to explain the untimeliness of the notice of appeal after the order granting stay relief was entered. Opinion below.

An “Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors” (an “ABC”) is an alternative to bankruptcy available under California law—as well as the laws of other states.  An ABC is often a more cost-efficient alternative to filing a bankruptcy case, and ABCs are often employed by secured lenders when speed and flexibility are required in a sale of the assets of the entity and the tools available in a bankruptcy proceeding (such as the ability to reject leases or bind certain classes of creditors) are unnecessary.  An ABC continues to be a very important tool that is routinely employed to assist

If you are considering bankruptcy for your insolvent business, an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (“ABC”) might be your answer.  An ABC is a less expensive, quicker, quieter, and simpler alternative to traditional bankruptcy.  An ABC is a state law procedure utilized to liquidate a failed, insolvent, or no longer viable business.  Fla. Stat. § 727.101.

For the past several years, creditors in the Ninth Circuit were confounded by an interpretation of the bankruptcy code that permitted individual chapter 11 debtors to retain a significant portion of their assets without creditor consent.  The problem was particularly vexing in the context of high net worth individuals, some of whom held multiple ownership interests in entities that held valuable assets or generated significant income.  That loophole was finally closed on January 28, 2016 when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the “absolute priority rule” applies i

In Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of America v. Pacific Gas and Elec. Co., 549 U.S. 443 (2007), the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Ninth Circuit’s long-standing Fobian rule disallowing claims against a bankruptcy estate for attorney’s fees arising from litigating issues that are “peculiar to federal bankruptcy law,” rather than basic contract enforcement. In so ruling, the Court recognized the presumption that “claims enforceable under applicable state law will be allowed in bankruptcy unless they are expressly disallowed.”

(6th Cir. Jan. 27, 2016)

The Sixth Circuit affirms the district court’s finding that the Chapter 11 plan was proposed in bad faith. The plan proposed to pay small claims in full but over a 60-day period. This class of claims was technically impaired due to the delayed payment and it voted to accept the plan. The principle secured lender appealed. The Court finds that the plan was not proposed in good faith, as required by 11 U.S.C. § 1129(a)(3), because it was designed to circumvent  § 1129(a)(10)’s requirement for an accepting impaired class of claims. Opinion below.

On January 25, Lehman and JPMorgan announced a settlement to resolve several aspects of the contentious and multifaceted Lehman-JPMorgan dispute that has lingered throughout Lehman’s bankruptcy.  The bankruptcy court will hear a motion to approve the settlement on February 8.

On January 1, 2016, the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (UVTA) was enacted in Kentucky and can be found at KRS 378A.005 e seq.  The UVTA replaces KRS 378, which contained KRS 378.010, the Kentucky fraudulent conveyance statute, and KRS 378.060, the Kentucky preference statute.  Nationally, the UVTA will replace the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (“UFTA”).  According to the Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, California, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, and North Dakota have joined Kentucky in enacting the UVTA. 

Recent Developments in Bankruptcy Law, January 2016 (Covering cases reported through 541 B.R. 768 and 804 F.3d 977) RICHARD LEVIN Partner +1 (212) 891-1601 [email protected] © Copyright 2016 Jenner & Block LLP. 353 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Jenner & Block is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.