The long ELNY saga continues, at least for the time being, with two recent developments.
Bankruptcy Code Section 503(b)(9) litigations have sometimes yield "shocking results". There is no pun intended here. This article discusses a recent case where the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Montana waded into the spine tingling issue of whether electricity is a good that is subject to Section 503(b)(9) administrative priority status.
On Wednesday, March 13, 2013, the Executive Office for United States Trustees (“EOUST”) released its long-awaited final rules for pre-bankruptcy counseling and post-filing debtor education. The regulations update procedures and criteria United States Trustees (“USTs”) shall use when determining whether applicants seeking to become and remain approved as: (1) nonprofit budget and credit counseling agencies (“credit counseling agencies” or “agencies”) (the “
On February 19, 2013, the six-person Review Team appointed by Michigan’s Governor to conduct a detailed financial review of the City of Detroit delivered its report to the Governor. The Report
As a result of the Review Team’s conclusion, the Governor is required to take action under Michigan’s emergency financial manager law by no later than March 21, 2013.
The following flow chart summarizes the next steps to be taken in the financial review process of the City of Detroit.
The Senate Judiciary Committee in February approved Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons to head the Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts for the 113th Congress. This gives Coons oversight of the nation’s bankruptcy court system, as well as court administration and management, judicial rules and procedures, the creation of new courts and judgeships, and legal reform and liability issues.
Few courts have construed the meaning of “repurchase agreement” as used in the Bankruptcy Code, so the recent HomeBanc1 case out of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware is a must-read for “repo” counterparties. The principal issue in HomeBanc was whether several zero purchase price repo transactions under the parties’ contract for the sale and repurchase of mortgage-backed securities fell within the definition of a “repurchase agreement” in Section 101(47) of the Bankruptcy Code.
On March 1, the Court of Appeals of Maryland, answering a question of law certified to it by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, held that the sale of repossessed automobiles at an auction where individuals had to pay a refundable $1,000 cash deposit was a "private sale", and not a "public auction," under the provisions of Maryland's Creditor Grantor Closed End Credit Act (CLEC). Gardner v. Ally Fin. Inc., Misc. No. 10, 2013 WL 765013 (Md. Mar. 1, 2013).
The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied a petition for writ of certiorari by United Healthcare Insurance Company (“UHC”), which had requested judicial review of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, whose jurisdiction includes the State of Texas. The Fifth Circuit’s opinion had held that ERISA did not preempt state claims brought by Access Mediquip (“Access”), a medical device provider, against UHC for negligent misrepresentation, promissory estoppel, and violations of the Texas Insurance Code (see Access Mediquip L.L.C. v. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co., No.
The bankruptcy of the largest U.S. city to file a chapter 9 bankruptcy petition has yielded a decision with serious implications for municipal creditors. Specifically, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California overruled the objections asserted by retired employees of the City of Stockton, California and authorized the City to suspend the retiree’s health benefits during the City’s Chapter 9 case. Ass’n of Retired Employees of the City of Stockton, et al. v. City of Stockton, California (In re City of Stockton), 56 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 250 (Bankr. E.D.
A Massachusetts bankruptcy court denied the motion for summary judgment of reinsurers Trenwick America Reinsurance Corporation and Unum Life Insurance Company, which sought to determine that debtor Malcom C. Swasey’s debt owed them was nondischargeable in bankruptcy. The underlying dispute centered on the reinsurers’ claim that Swasey and companies he controlled, IRC, Inc. and IRC Re, engaged in fraud and breached a contract under which IRC Re was to provide retrocessional coverage in connection with a workers’ compensation program.