Generally speaking, Massachusetts is a non-judicial foreclosure state – meaning that lenders can foreclose on mortgages of Massachusetts property without seeking judicial approval beforehand. In certain circumstances, however, a pre-foreclosure judicial proceeding is required solely to determine whether the borrower is in the active military service and entitled to the protections of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. §532.
Pursuant to § 1104 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, the court may appoint a bankruptcy examiner to investigate the debtor with respect to allegations of fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct or mismanagement. A qualified examiner, with a clearly defined mission, can drastically affect the outcome of the bankruptcy case and directly impact the return to creditors. The difference between a successful financial restructure or liquidation and an investigation yielding little value to the creditors often depends on the approach taken by the examiner and his professionals.
On December 1, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued an administrative complaint challenging Laboratory Corporation of America’s (“LabCorp”) consummated acquisition of rival Westcliff Medical Laboratories, Inc. (“Westcliff”). The FTC alleged that the acquisition, which was completed in June, would substantially lessen competition among providers of capitated clinical laboratory testing services to physician groups in Southern California.
The Supreme Court of Kentucky recently held that under Kentucky law, a security interest in a motor vehicle is not deemed perfected unless and until physical notation of the security interest is made on the certificate of title, pursuant to KRS 186A.190.
The Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska (CBNA) has been directed to arbitrate an insurance dispute. The CBNA filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy relief as a result of sexual abuse lawsuits against it. In the course of its bankruptcy proceeding, it sought a declaratory judgment as against its insurer, Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, concerning the scope of coverage for the abuse claims.
When defaults spiked for loans underwritten by commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), many Texas attorneys sought state court-appointed receivers for commercial real estate assets.
Placing a struggling property in receivership has long been a remedy available for lenders, but Texas' relatively expedited and inexpensive nonjudicial foreclosure process limited the remedy's practical value for traditional lenders.
On December 17, 2010, in In re Settlement Facility Dow Corning Trust (6th Cir., Case Nos. 09-1827/1830, Dec.
On November 10 we posted to Basis Points a blog concerning a Delaware Bankruptcy Court decision (In re Universal Building Products) that fired a warning shot across the bows of professionals who solicit Creditors’ Committee proxies from non-clients of their firms (here is the blog).
What you need to know
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled that where a medical malpractice claim is transferred from an insolvent insurer to the Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund, the Fund is liable for the statutory cap of $299,999 for each of the multiple claims arising from one overall medical incident, subject to the policy’s aggregate limits.
What you need to do
In St. Hill v. Tribeca Lending Corp., Case No. 09-2214, 2010 WL 2997724 (3rd Cir. Dec. 8, 2010), the Third Circuit showed that, in determining whether the Truth In Lending Act (TILA) applied to a credit transaction, it would look beyond obvious facts to ascertain a transaction's "primary purpose."