Congratulations! You have won your case and finally obtained a judgment against that owner or contractor who owes you money. Obtaining the judgment has not been easy. It has required hundreds of hours of time meeting with attorneys, collecting documents, printing e-mails, attending depositions and hearings, and perhaps even testifying at trial, not to mention the money spent on expert witnesses and attorneys. Given that justice has been served, has the time and expense of obtaining your judgment been worth it? Not necessarily.

In re WEB2B Payment Solutions, Inc., 2013 WL 1188041 (8th Cir. BAP, Mar. 26, 2013)

CASE SNAPSHOT

The bank, which held a possessory lien in the deposit account of the debtor, lost its lien when it turned over the funds in the account to the trustee upon his turnover demand, because the bank failed to seek adequate protection prior to turning over the funds.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In re ESA Environmental Specialists, Inc., 2013 WL 765705 (4th Cir., Mar. 1, 2013)

CASE SNAPSHOT

In re Burcam Capital II, LLC, Case No. 12-04729-8-JRL (Bankr. E.D.N.C., Feb. 15, 2013)

CASE SNAPSHOT

Prudential Insurance Company of America v. WestLB AG, 961 N.Y.S. 2d 360 (2012)

CASE SNAPSHOT

In re Miller, 2013 WL 425342 (6th Cir. Feb. 5, 2013)

CASE SNAPSHOT

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the secured lender’s credit bid, which equaled the total debt owed on two properties but exceeded the value of the only foreclosed property involved in the sheriff’s sale, extinguished the entire debt. The court affirmed the order to lift the automatic stay only to require the lender to dismiss the second foreclosure action, release the promissory note and mortgage, and turn over the second property to the borrower free and clear.

In re Georges Marciano, No. 11-60070 (9th Cir., Feb. 27, 2013)

CASE SNAPSHOT

Judgment creditors of Georges Marciano filed an involuntary chapter 11 petition against Marciano, who appealed the state judgments before the petition was filed. The Ninth Circuit ruled, in a case of first impression, that unstayed state court judgments on appeal were not "the subject of a bona fide dispute," and thus the Bankruptcy Court did not err when it entered an order for relief under chapter 11 against Marciano, notwithstanding the pending appeals.

Good news for lenders. Judge Carey of the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware enforced a make-whole premium equal to 37 percent of the outstanding principal balance on a loan. He determined that, under New York state law, the calculation was not "plainly disproportionate" to the lender’s possible loss and was negotiated at arm’s length between sophisticated parties. In addition, Judge Carey held that a make-whole claim was not equivalent to "unmatured interest," which is unauthorized under Section 502 of the Bankruptcy Code, but instead was a claim for liquidated damages.

Ad Hoc Group of Vitro Noteholders v. Vitro S.A.B. de C.V., 701 F.3d 1031 (5th Cir. 2012)

CASE SNAPSHOT

Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. Chicago American Manufacturing, LLC, 686 F.3d 372 (7th Cir. 2012)

CASE SNAPSHOT

In a matter of first impression in the Seventh Circuit, the court held that a chapter 7 trustee’s rejection of an executory contract did not terminate the trademark license contained therein.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND