The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued its much anticipated decision in In Re River Road Hotel Partners, LLC, __ F.3d __ (7th Cir., June 28, 2011). In the closely watched case, the Seventh Circuit declined to follow the Third Circuit’s decision in Philadelphia Newspapers, 599 F.3d 298 (3d Cir. 2010), holding instead that secured lenders have the right to credit bid in “free and clear” asset sales where their liens are being stripped, whether those sales occur under section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code or under a chapter 11 plan.

In a significant decision that reinforced the U.S. Supreme Court’s prior plurality decision in Marathon, the Court determined that while bankruptcy courts have the statutory authority to hear state-law compulsory counterclaims to a creditor’s proof of claim under section 157(b)(2)(C) of Title 28, Article III of the U.S. Constitution requires such proceedings to be heard by Article III judges where they would not be resolved as part of the claims allowance process.

Debtors filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7.  The Debtors own and have title to real property ("Property").  Prior to the Petition Date, the husband borrowed $85,000 from Lender. This loan was reflected by a promissory note signed only by the husband, as "Borrower."  The term "Note" is defined in the Mortgage as the promissory note signed by Borrower.  On the same date, a mortgage granting Lender a mortgage on the Property was executed.

Introduction

On June 23, 2011, after fifteen years of hugely acrimonious litigation, the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Court”) issued a decision on a narrow legal issue that may end up significantly limiting the scope of bankruptcy courts’ core jurisdiction.  

Unless you’re not a sports fan or simply don’t follow Major League Baseball (MLB), you probably know that the Los Angeles Dodgers filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on Monday, June 27, 2011. (Delaware Bankruptcy Court, Case Number 11-12010.) According to Forbes magazine, the Dodgers are one of the most valuable baseball franchises in America. Nevertheless, the franchise hit hard times and filed for bankruptcy.

In In re Filene’s Basement, LLC,¹ the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware considered the rejection damages a landlord claimant was entitled to pursuant to Section 502(b)(6) of the Bankruptcy Code after the debtor rejected its lease as part of its reorganization plan.

On May 21, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit answered the long-asked question of whether structured dismissals are permissible under the Bankruptcy Code with a resounding yes.

RadioShack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware bankruptcy court in February, seeking a court-supervised sale of $1.2 billion in assets. Included in the sale is a database of customer information from about 1,700 stores regarding RadioShack’s 117 million customers.

Nothing says “closure” quite like a termination agreement reaffirmed by a bankruptcy court – right?

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently held in Krol v.