The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit (the “BAP”) issued a number of published and unpublished decisions in the fourth quarter of 2014 that impact both consumer and business bankruptcy practice throughout the circuit.
Recently, a bankruptcy court for the district of Puerto Rico held that a debtor’s waiver of the automatic stay contained in a pre-petition forbearance agreement was enforceable. In re Triple A & R Capital Inv., Inc., 519 B.R. 581 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2014).
In a case of first impression, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held a tax return that is filed after the April 15 deadline is not a “return” within the meaning of § 523(a)(1)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code; as a consequence, a debtor is not entitled to a discharge of tax liability if the tax return is filed after the deadline.
In the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the bankruptcy court dismissed a chapter 11 case for bad faith, relying in part on an email sent by someone other than the debtor relaying to his employees and sales representatives his conversation with the debtor’s chief executive officer. This decision serves as a reminder to debtor lawyers how imperative it is to review with your client what it is saying both privately and publicly about its bankruptcy case. Because even in bankruptcy court, anything you say can and will be used against you.
On January 13, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied a petition for en banc review of the Second Circuit’s September 2014 panel decision holding that bankruptcy courts are required to review the propriety of a Chapter 15 debtor’s transfers of property interests within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., even if such a transfer has already been approved in the debtor’s foreign proceeding. This decision represents a departure from prior cases, in which U.S.
A recent decision by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri held that a manufactured home is real property for purposes of Section 1322(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. This holding prevents chapter 13 debtors from modifying a secured lender’s claim where the claim is secured by a lien on a manufactured home in Missouri that is the debtor’s primary residence.
In a recent decision by the Second Circuit, Lucas v. Dynegy Inc. (In re Dynegy, Inc.), No. 13-2581 (2d. Cir. Oct.
“Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.” – Voltaire
A prominent New York bankruptcy court is the latest in a series of courts to deny lenders the full benefit of their bargains when borrowers attempt to restructure debt through a chapter 11 reorganization. Continuing a trend that includes a 2013 decision from the Second Circuit in the American Airlines bankruptcy, the Fifth Circuit's 2014 decision in the case of Denver Merchandise Mart, and the New York federal district court's 2010 affirmance in the Calpine bankruptcy case, the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York has ruled, in In re MPM Silicones, LLC (Momen