Law Commons^™

Erisa’S Fiduciary Fantasy And The Problem Of Mass Health Claim Denials, Katherine T. Vukadin

University of Richmond Law Review

Over 100 million Americans face healthcare debt. Most of those in debt have health insurance, with the debt often springing from services people thought were covered. Before and even after receiving care, those seeking coverage must run a gauntlet of obstacles such as excessive pre-authorization requests, burdensome concurrent review of care, and retrospective review, which claws back payment after a treatment is pre-authorized and payment made. Increasingly, this procedural tangle leaves people with unwarranted and unexpected medical bills, quickly spiraling them into debt.

Who polices health insurers’ claims practices? What keeps insurance companies from designing overly burdensome pre-authorization requirements or …

Duped By Dope: The Sackler Family’S Attempt To Escape Opioid Liability And The Need To Close The Non-Debtor Release Loophole, Bryson T. Strachan

University of Richmond Law Review

The opioid epidemic continues to rage on in the United States, ravaging its rural populations. One of its main causes? OxyContin. Purdue Pharma (“Purdue”), the maker of OxyContin, aggressively marketed opioids to the American public while racking up a fortune of over $13 billion dollars for its owners,3 the Sackler family. As a result, roughly 3,000 lawsuits were filed against Purdue and members of the Sackler family. Generally, the lawsuits alleged that Purdue and members of the Sackler family knew OxyContin was highly addictive yet aggressively marketed high dosages of the drug and misrepresented the drug as nonaddictive and without …

Duped By Dope: The Sackler Family’S Attempt To Escape Opioid Liability And The Need To Close The Non-Debtor Release Loophole, Bryson T. Strachan

Law Student Publications

The opioid epidemic continues to rage on in the United States, ravaging its rural populations. One of its main causes? OxyContin. Purdue Pharma (“Purdue”), the maker of OxyContin, aggressively marketed opioids to the American public while racking up a fortune of over $13 billion dollars for its owners,3 the Sackler family. As a result, roughly 3,000 lawsuits were filed against Purdue and members of the Sackler family. Generally, the lawsuits alleged that Purdue and members of the Sackler family knew OxyContin was highly addictive yet aggressively marketed high dosages of the drug and misrepresented the drug as nonaddictive and without …

Better Than A Discharge, David G. Epstein, Tevin Bowens

Law Faculty Publications

"“It’s the Cadillac of . . .” Chilli Palmer. Traditionally, discharge has been regarded as the “Cadillac” of success in bankruptcy. Getting a discharge is as good as it can get.

When an individual debtor files for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 and receives a discharge then, in the language of the South, the attorney for that individual has “done good.” Or, in more academic verbiage, the lawyer has achieved Chapter 7 and Chapter 13’s “end goal.” Similarly, if a business entity files for Chapter 11 and its plan is confirmed which triggers a discharge, the attorney for the business …

Changes To Bankruptcy Forms And Pending Bankruptcy Rule Changes, Kathleen Klepfer

Law Faculty Publications

Nearly every form used by the bankruptcy courts went through a significant overhaul in December as part of a seven-year project designed to streamline the filing process. The voluntary petition—old Form B1—has now been split into three separate forms: B101 for individual debtors, B201 for nonindividual debtors, and B401 for foreign proceedings. This overhaul altered the format of most additional forms and schedules, including the internal “director’s forms,” all of which are now available on the court’s main form page. Because most form numbers changed as well, the courts have provided a conversion chart that aligns the old and new …

Bankruptcy Law, Hon. Kevin R. Huennekens, Nathan Kramer

University of Richmond Law Review

This article will cover both consumer and business bankruptcy issues, and is limited primarily to decisions by courts within the Fourth Circuit since mid-2012. Despite these general parameters, because bankruptcy is federal law, there are some cases outside the Fourth Circuit that are included due to their influential and instructive nature. The intention of this update is to provide bankruptcy practitioners in Virginia with concise, yet compre-hensive, case summaries that will prove to be a valuable researchtool.

Not Just Anna Nicole Smith: Cleavage In Bankruptcy, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

This is an essay about the unwarranted erosion of two basic bankruptcy principles:the cleavage effect of a debtor's filing of a bankruptcy petition and the equality of treatment of prepetition unsecured claims. These are two of the most fundamental bankruptcy concepts. First courts and then Congress have fashioned rules favoring the prepetition unsecured claims of vendors and lessors that are inconsistent with these concepts. We explore the origins of such favored treatment, question the commonly offered policy justifications, and argue that the prepetition unsecured claims of vendors and lessors generally should be afforded the same treatment in bankruptcy as other …

Reclaim This! Getting Credit Seller Rights In Bankruptcy Right, Lawrence Ponoroff

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy Law, Hon. Douglas O. Tice Jr., K. Elizabeth Sieg, David W. Gaffey

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Economic Integration: An American Solution To The Multinational Enterprize Group Conundrum, Robert W. Miller

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Business Insolvency And The Irish Debt Crisis, Paul B. Lewis

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

The Chapter 13 Alternative: A Legislative Solution To Undersecured Home Mortgages, Hon. Samuel L. Bufford

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Immediate And Lasting Impacts Of The 2008 Economic Collapse--Lehman Brothers, General Motors, And The Secured Credit Markets, Edward J. Estrada

University of Richmond Law Review

This article analyzes the early days of the credit crisis as well as two of the largest casualties of that period-Lehman Brothers and General Motors. In addition, by focusing on the bankruptcy proceedings of these two entities as well as other judicial decisions rendered since the financial crisis began, it examines the role that courts have played in the crisis.

Orderly Liquidation Authority: A New Insolvency Regime To Address Systemic Risk, Hollace T. Cohen

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy Law, Hon. Douglas O. Tice Jr., Suzanne E. Wade, K. Elizabeth Sieg

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Checking Up With Barf:Evaluating The Effectiveness, Challenges And Shortcomings Of Thebankruptcy Abuse Prevention And Consumer Protection Act Of 2005., Robert Slimak

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

Following this introduction, Part II evaluates the effectiveness of the BAPCPA by measuring bankruptcy filing rates pre- and post-enactment and examines the losses disclosed by some of the largest credit lenders who lobbied for the bill. Part III discusses the legal challenges to BAPCPA that have already appeared in federal court. Part IV explains some of the more heavily-criticized shortcomings of the BAPCPA. This comment concludes with a brief discussion of the root causes of bankruptcy that remain unaffected by the passage of the BAPCPA.

Checking Up With Barf:Evaluating The Effectiveness, Challenges And Shortcomings Of Thebankruptcy Abuse Prevention And Consumer Protection Act Of 2005., Robert Slimak

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Following this introduction, Part II evaluates the effectiveness of the BAPCPA by measuring bankruptcy filing rates pre- and post-enactment and examines the losses disclosed by some of the largest credit lenders who lobbied for the bill. Part III discusses the legal challenges to BAPCPA that have already appeared in federal court. Part IV explains some of the more heavily-criticized shortcomings of the BAPCPA. This comment concludes with a brief discussion of the root causes of bankruptcy that remain unaffected by the passage of the BAPCPA.

Asset-Backed Securitization In China, Yuwa Wei

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Chapter 15 And The Advancement Of International Cooperation In Cross-Border Bankruptcy Proceedings, Bryan Stark

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Bapcpa And Commercial Credit: Who (Sic) Do You Trust, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

Trying to understand and apply the many different provisions of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) has caused people to yearn for the "good old days." At the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges' (NCBJ) Annual Meeting in San Antonio in October 2005, there was a lot of talk about the "good old days" and some singing "'bout the good old days" at the NCBJ "Final Night Dinner" by a larger than life (at least as large as Sally Struthers), Wynonna Judd. And this has caused me to remember a daytime television show from my good …

Bankruptcy Law, Richard C. Maxwell, B. Webb King

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Real-World And Academic Questions About Nonmonetary Obligations Under The 2005 Version Of 365(B), David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

McLachlan, Countryman, Westbrook. More than most areas of bankruptcy law, the bankruptcy law of leases and contracts has been influenced by law professors. McLachlan is generally credited for inventing the bankruptcy law of leases and executory contracts; specifically, for drafting section 70(b) of the Bankruptcy Act-the predecessor of section 365. Countryman's law review articles based on work he did for the Commission to Study the Bankruptcy Laws of the United States led to the "Countryman definition" of "executory contracts." Additionally, Westbrook's article urging the elimination of the term "executory contract" and a clarification of the consequences of rejection shaped the …

Recoupment: Apples, Oranges And Fruit Basket Turnover, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

fiscal years and deducted the overpayment from its payments to H during that year. The fiscal year 2000 was also the year that H filed for Chapter 11. H filed an adversary proceeding against US contending that the deductions within four months before H's bankruptcy filing were voidable preferential transfers and that US's deductions after the bankruptcy filing were in violation of the automatic stay. The bankruptcy judge, the district court judge, and a unanimous appellate court panel looked to the law of recoupment to hold that US's reduction of payments was neither a preferential transfer nor a violation of …

The Search For More Fairness In The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Elwin Griffith

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Researching Bankruptcy Law On The Internet, Timothy L. Coggins

Law Faculty Publications

Attorneys researching bankruptcy law use a diverse collection of print resources to locate bankruptcy primary and secondary sources. Bankruptcy code provisions appear in Title 11 of the codified federal statutes, available either in the official U.S. Code (published by the U.S. Government Printing Office) or one of the two commercially published unofficial codes, U.S.C.A. (Thomson-West) and the U.S.C.S. (LexisNexis). Attorneys find bankruptcy rules and official forms (Rules 1-9036; Forms 1-35) in the same three sets. Researchers often find the unofficial codes preferable because they are annotated with case summaries and references to other materials and are supplemented more frequently than …

The Practical Scholar, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

Larry King was "the practical scholar" for bankruptcy. In 1992, Harry Edwards, a District of Columbia Court of Appeals judge who has been a lecturer at New York University Law School since 1989, provided a definition of "practical scholarship" that defines Larry's scholarship: "[I]t analyzes the law and the legal system with an aim to instruct attorneys in their consideration of legal problems; to guide judges and other decisionmakers in their resolution of legal disputes; and to advise legislators and other policymakers on law reform.

Another Way Of Thinking About Section 105(A) And Other Sources Of Supplemental Law Under The Bankruptcy Code, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

In this article we discuss the role of 105 in bankruptcy law generally rather than in specific bankruptcy cases. We mention a few cases as examples. Mainly, we aim at 105. We work toward an understanding of this section that explains our view of the bottom issue that determines the proper role and use of 105 and also the proper role and use of supplemental law generally.

Thin Red Line: An Analysis Of The Role Of Legal Assistants In The Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Process, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

The delegation by a lawyer of substantial amounts of non-ministerial functions to legal assistants raises various unauthorized practice of law issues. This Article provides an overview of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy process and state law rules regarding the unauthorized practice of law. We then discus~ these rules in the context of a typical Chapter 13 debtor practice.

Don't Go And Do Something Rash About Cram Down Interest Rates, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

This Article considers the second and different question of how to value the proposed payments under the plan. While the question of how to value the proposed payments under the plan is different from the question of how to value the creditor's security interest in property, there is a connection between the answers to the questions. The value of the payments must at least equal the value of the security interest.

National Bankruptcy Review Commission's Section 365 Recommendations And The Larger Conceptual Issues, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

In the chapter of the Report of the National Bankruptcy Commission ("Report") entitled "Business Bankruptcy," the National Bankruptcy Review Commission ("Review Commission") makes four recommendations regarding section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code: 2.4.1 Clarifying the Meaning of "Rejection" The concept of "rejection" in section 365 should be replaced with "election to breach." Section 365 should provide that a trustee's ability to elect to breach a contract of the debtor is not an avoiding power. Section 502(g) should be amended to provide that a claim arising from the election to breach shall be allowed or disallowed the same as if such …