On January 10, 2014, a Bankruptcy Court Judge issued a strongly-worded, 65-page opinion that exposes a “startling pattern of misrepresentation” by some plaintiffs’ attorneys in asbestos litigation. He concluded that the “withholding of exposure evidence by plaintiffs and their lawyers was significant and had the effect of unfairly inflating” recoveries. In re GarlockSealing Techs., No. 10-31607, at 35, 37 (Jan. 10, 2014, Bankr. W.D.N.C.).
Joe Francis built his Girls Gone Wild (GGW) empire (and the ego of an emperor) filming intoxicated college girls in various states of undress, putting that footage on VHS (and later DVDs and branded websites), and selling them to eager consumers across the globe. If you were alive and watching TV in the late 1990s and early aughts, those late-night infomercials undoubtedly made their way across your TV screen at some point, or you may have even purchased such classics as Girls Gone Wild: Mardi Gras Madness or Girls Gone Wild: Ultimate Spring Break.
In a case of first impression at the circuit level, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has held a debtor’s entire religious tithing is avoidable if it exceeds 15% of the debtor’s gross annual income, and the court did so based on its perception of the plain language of the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act which codified the “safe harbor” provisions of sec.
On January 10, 2014, in a closely watched case, Judge George Hodges of the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina ruled that Garlock Sealing Technologies, Inc.
Security has many advantages for creditors. Four important advantages are listed below, followed by a discussion of the results of a recent empirical study showing that creditors recognize the benefits of obtaining security from their borrowers.
Advantage 1: A Secured Creditor Will Rarely Walk Away Empty-Handed
As Delaware has often been selected as a preferred place of incorporation by U.S. businesses, and consequently the venue for dissolution and bankruptcies, the recent decision by the Delaware Supreme Court, In the Matter of Krafft-Murphy Co., Inc., No. 85, 2013 (Del. Nov. 26, 2013), holding that insurance contracts remained property of the dissolved corporation may have significant implications for “orphan shares” at co-disposal, environmental remediation sites, as well as for non-environmental liabilities.
Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that Illinois mortgages entered prior to the amendment of 765 ILCS 5/11 need not strictly conform to the form presented in the statute. In re Crane, --- F.3d ---, 2013 WL 6731850 (7th Cir. Dec. 23, 2013). However, the court’s decision in Crane, considered as a whole, serves as a reminder to secured lenders to closely examine the contents of their mortgages and the requirements of applicable state law.
The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida recently issued an important decision for administrative creditors in chapter 11 cases and chapter 7 cases alike. In In re National Litho, LLC, 2013 WL 2303786 (Bankr. S.D. Fla.
Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s plan to monetize the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, whether by sale or otherwise, took a large step towards realization today when at least nine local and national foundations pledged up to $330 million to Detroit to keep the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts safe from sale, loan, or other encumbrance, and also to shore up pension funds Following