The Supreme Court recently confirmed in Wellness Int'l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif that parties may consent to having bankruptcy judges resolve their non-core claims – claims to which bankruptcy courts would normally lack adjudicatory authority. The issue presented to the court was whether Article III permits the exercise of the judicial power of the United States by the bankruptcy courts on the basis of litigant consent, and if so, whether implied consent based on a litigant’s conduct is sufficient to satisfy Article III.
On June 2, 2015, the United States’ Supreme Court issued the opinion in the case of Bank of America v. Caulket, where the Court ruled that a Debtor whose home is ‘underwater’ cannot “Strip off” or void a junior lien when filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy protection. The Court in a unanimous decision answered the question of whether 11 U.S.C. §506(d) allows Chapter 7 debtors to void certain liens on their home. The Court stated, in a an opinion written by Justice Thomas,
A little over a year ago, I authored an article addressing the question of whether the “Absolute Priority Rule” applied to Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases filed by an individual. That article, which focused on the decision of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in In re Maharaj 681 F. 3d 558 (4th Cir. 2012), noted that the trend appeared to be towards the conclusion that the Absolute Priority Rule did apply in such cases—but that in Michigan, the issue had not yet been addressed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. That has now changed.
Section 510(b) of the Bankruptcy Code permits the subordination of certain claims to all claims or interests senior or equal to the security on which the claim is based. A recent Fifth Circuit opinion delineates the scope of mandatory subordination under Section 510(b).
As discussed in a prior blog entry, virtually any amount of property in the United States will enable most foreign entities to commence a case under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. But once that case is opened, there are a number of challenges that parties may raise to keeping the c
This is the second in a series of Alerts regarding the proposals made by the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Select Commission to Reform Chapter 11 Business Bankruptcies. It covers the Commission’s recommendations about the paying of “critical vendors” and other unsecured creditors at the very beginning of a bankruptcy case. The Commission’s recommendations are set forth below. For copies of this Alert, or the prior article about the Commission’s recommendations regarding secured lenders, please contact any BakerHostetler bankruptcy attorney.
On May 21, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (the "Third Circuit") held that in rare instances a bankruptcy court may approve a "structured dismissal"- that is, a dismissal "that winds up the bankruptcy with certain conditions attached instead of simply dismissing the case and restoring the status quo ante" - that deviates from the Bankruptcy Code's priority scheme. See Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. CIT Group/Business Credit Inc. (In re Jevic Holding Corp.), Case No.
Before we offend our fellow law practitioners outside of the United States, we want to emphasize that this blog entry is not about what is “better” – chapter 11 or other bankruptcy laws, U.S.
‘Cause Tonight / Is the Night / When 2 Become 1
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