In re Baber, 523 B.R. 156 (Bankr. E.D. Ark. 2014) –
The debtors objected to a proof of claim filed on behalf of a mortgagee based on issues arising from assignment of the mortgage note by the lender that originated the loan. The mortgagee responded by, among other things, challenging the standing of the debtors to raise these issues.
On March 3, the DOJ’s U.S. Trustee Program announced a $50 million settlement with a national bank to resolve allegations that the bank engaged in improper actions during bankruptcy proceedings.
It is an unfortunate fact of life for those of us who represent lenders that our bills are paid by the people on the other side of the table — the borrowers. While this is the custom, it adds extra weight to the usual concern about legal fees, since it means the borrower is paying for attorneys whose jobs are, in large part, to oppose their interests.
We resume our ongoing coverage of the Report of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 as it relates to exiting the chapter 11 case. A prior post highlighted key proposals about plan voting, and today’s post discusses key proposals about plan settlements, exculpation and release provisions, and exit orders.
Determining whether a contract is executory and, thereby, subject to assumption or rejection under Section 365(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, can be a difficult and fact intensive inquiry. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held, in an en banc decision, that continuing obligations under a trademark licensing agreement were insufficient to render the agreement executory.
Debtors seeking dismissal of an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding may want to consider a recent decision of the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia. In denying an individual debtor’s motion to dismiss an involuntary petition, the court in In re Barkats held that a debtor may not pay off petitioning creditors to the detriment of other creditors as a way of avoiding an involuntary p
In re Sky Ventures, LLC, 523 B.R. 163 (Bankr. D. Minn. 2014) –
After a debtor obtained court approval to retroactively reject a lease as of the bankruptcy filing date, the landlord moved to reset the rejection date and for allowance of an administrative expense priority claim for post-petition rent.
In the ongoing saga of what is known as the “Ashley II Litigation,” the United States District Court of South Carolina recently set aside several years of distributions to the shareholders of a dissolved, closely-held family corporation because the payments were intended to avoid liability for environmental contamination of property the company had not owned in 40 years. PCS Nitrogen, Inc. v. Ross Development Corp., 2015 BL 36539, D.S.C., No. 09-cv-03171, 2/12/15. This latest decision follows a prior case where PCS Nitrogen, Inc.
If cramdown failures are par for the course, why are we all so fascinated with them? One thing is certain: they always provide a good teaching moment for practitioners. Marlow Manor’s chapter 11 single asset real estate case is no different.