(6th Cir. B.A.P. Jan. 28, 2016)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently held that a debtor in bankruptcy can pursue claims under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") in district court for trying to collect a discharged debt, reversing a judgment dismissing the FDCPA claims and requiring the plaintiff seek relief in bankruptcy court.

The District Court for the Southern District of New York recently affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision to approve the method used by trustee of the estate of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) to value the net equity of transfers between BLMIS accounts. See In re BLMIS (Melton Tr. v. Picard), Case No. 1:15-cv-01195-PAE (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 14, 2016).

Background

Generally when parties to a dispute work out a settlement they can breathe a sigh of relief and put their differences behind them.  OK – it’s a little more complicated than that when one of the parties is a chapter 11 debtor that must seek relief from the bankruptcy court to approve the settlement.  But what if a party objects?  Things get a bit more complicated.  And what if the objecting party has no apparent pecuniary interest at stake?  In that scenario, the settling parties can rest a little easier as the bankruptcy court in 

In the case of Domistyle, Inc., 14-41463 (5th Cir. Dec. 29, 2015), the United States Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit affirmed an order of the bankruptcy court requiring a secured creditor to reimburse the trustee for expenses paid to preserve real property subject to the creditor’s lien until the debtor’s eventual surrender of the property to the creditor.

On November 18, 2015, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed intentional fraudulent transfer claims asserted by a bankruptcy litigation trustee against former shareholders of Lyondell Chemical Company in Weisfelner v. Fund 1 (In re Lyondell Chemical Co.) (Lyondell II). By adopting a strict view of what constitutes intent, the opinion tightens pleading standards applicable to these cases. It bears watching whether other courts will apply Lyondell II's more demanding pleading standards.

A recent decision in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York clarifies that restructuring options under Chapter 11 or Chapter 15 are available to foreign issuers of U.S. debt, even if those issuers have no operations in the United States (In re Berau Capital Resources PTE Ltd.). The decision could have widespread implications for cross-border restructuring transactions involving U.S.-issued debt, since the ability to utilize Chapter 11 or Chapter 15 offers many advantages for foreign issuers.

Background

In a chapter 15 decision, In re Daebo International Shipping Co., Judge Michael E.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida recently overruled a debtor's objection to a mortgagee's secured claim and denied the debtor's motion to determine secured status, holding that the issues should have been brought by adversary proceeding, and in any event neither Florida's statute of limitations nor its statute of repose barred enforcement of the note and mortgage.  A copy of the opinion is attached.

“‘Two roads diverged in the woods and I took the road less traveled’ [sic] … and it hurt, man! Not cool, Robert Frost! … But what if there really were two paths?  I want to be on the one that leads to awesome.”
– Kid President (Robby Novak)