Bankruptcy Law Commons^™

The Scrivener's Error: How Bankruptcy Judges Overrule Health Experts On Medicare Decisions, Nicolas C. Oehler

Akron Law Review

There is a circuit split over the interpretation of 42 U.S.C. § 405(h), which requires providers to exhaust their remedies with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) before proceeding to court. This split originates from a recodification that omitted several jurisdictional grants from § 405(h), leaving courts to decide whether to continue interpreting the statute as Congress intended or begin interpreting the statute’s plain language. Complicating this split, a backlog of claims in HHS’s appeal systems prevents speedy adjudication. This delay leaves providers searching for other adjudicatory options for their Medicare claims, such as bankruptcy courts.

As initially …

The Secured Party And His Nemesis, The Trustee In Bankruptcy: After-Acquired Property, Unidentified Proceeds, And Selected Preference Problems, John P. Finan

Akron Law Review

A trustee in bankruptcy, in addition to succeeding to the rights of the bankrupt,' has several avoiding powers. Some of these avoiding powers are based on practices which, like vice, are of "so frightful mien that to be hated [need] but to be seen." Preferences may not be included among such practices. Indeed, the English view exhibits ambivalence towards preferences. At one time it regarded "preferences [as] the good fortune of the creditor." A later view was "that the preferring of one creditor over others within a short time of bankruptcy and in contemplation thereof, was a 'fraud on the …

Access To Civil Courts - Indigents - Filing Fee; United States V. Kras, William I. Arbuckle

Akron Law Review

Robert William Kras presented his voluntary petition in bankruptcy to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in May of 1971. With the petition his Legal Aid Society Attorneys filed a motion for leave to proceed without prepayment of any of the filing fees required as a prerequisite to discharge. Kras alleged that he was unable to pay the fees, even in installments, and that they should not be required of him either because (1) he was entitled to proceed in forma pauperis under the Federal Statute, or (2) because the provisions of the Bankruptcy …

Section 17a(2) Objections To Discharge Filed By Small Loan Companies In Consumer Bankruptcies: A Practical Analysis, David L. Herbert

Akron Law Review

THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE of the Bankruptcy Act' has been correctly characterized as being twofold: to distribute the bankrupt's assets fairly among his creditors and to "[Rielieve the honest debtor from the weight of oppressive indebtedness...,, thereby to accomplish the debtor's economic rehabilitation. Problems arise, however, when the debtor has not been honest in his efforts to obtain money or property on credit.

A Reappraisal Of The Indigent's Right Of Access To Bankruptcy Proceedings, Timothy E. Gammon

Akron Law Review

IN 1963, Robert F. Kennedy stated, "To a serious extent, the scales of justice in this country are weighed against the poor"' One year later, the Office of Economic Opportunity was created, which helped balance the scale in some areas by providing legal service programs2 for indigents. Nevertheless, the enormous need of legal service for indigents has not and cannot be met under present programs.' The 1964 legal service program failed to provide money for fees and court costs in judicial and administrative proceedings so petitioners who could not proceed in jorma pauperis were denied access to those proceedings. No …

Exemptions And Lien Avoidance Under The Bankruptcy Reform Act Of 1978 And Ohio Law, Karen L. Edwards

Akron Law Review

Specified property of a debtor is exempt from the bankruptcy estate. State law has generally specified the property of a bankrupt which may be exempted from the estate. The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 institutes a new federal policy regarding exemptions. The new federal provisions, however, are under attack. Currently in Ohio, the applicability of the federal avoidance power contained in section 522(f) of the Bankruptcy Code is being questioned. This section provides for the avoidance of certain liens encumbering property otherwise exemptable. Legislation in Ohio specifically provides that the exemption provisions do not affect a security interest of personal …

The Timing Of Perfection Of Security Interests Under The Uniform Commercial Code And The Bankruptcy Reform Act, Richard A. Mann, Michael J. Phillips

Akron Law Review

This article will examine this new relationship as it applies to a specific problem created by the interaction between Article 9 and bankruptcy law: the timing of a "transfer" when a security interest is challenged as preferential in a bankruptcy proceeding. Resolution of this question is often critical for determining the secured party's ability to recover assets pledged as collateral when the debtor goes into bankruptcy. The article will begin by explaining the "timing of transfer" problem as it arose under Article 9 and the Bankruptcy Act. Then it will describe and evaluate the new solution provided by the Bankruptcy …

The Rejection Of Collective Bargaining Agreements Within Bankruptcy Reorganization: Reconciling A Legislative Dilemma, Gust Goutras

Akron Law Review

In 1981, a Dallas based conglomerate, LTV Corporation, spun-off a subsidiary known as Wilson Foods. The purpose for this action was that Wilson Foods, the nation's fifth largest meat packer was suffering from financial difficulties. Shortly after the spin-off, Wilson Foods entered into a collective bargaining agreement with its unionized employees, initiating a wage freeze through 1985. Under this arrangement, Wilson Foods' losses continued to escalate.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission V. Weintraub, Thomas R. Himmelspach

Akron Law Review

After presenting a general discussion of the attorney-client privilege, this casenote will discuss the facts underlying Weintraub and then review the rationales of the Seventh Circuit and the Supreme Court in their respective holdings. This casenote will discuss other arguments which have been raised in support of the trustee's authority over the privilege. The casenote will conclude with a discussion of other policy and precedent arguments which urge that the trustee should not be given this authority.

Adequate Assurance Of Payment Under Section 366 Of The Bankruptcy Code: A Term For Interpretive Flexibility Or Judical Confusion?, Veryl Victoria Miles

Akron Law Review

This article will focus on the interpretive struggle that the courts have encountered in making determinations of what constitutes adequate assurance of payment under section 366 and how this struggle might be eliminated so as to make compliance with the requirements of adequate assurance of payment less of a problem for the utility and bankrupt debtor. It is the thesis of this article that section 366 determinations of adequate assurance have resulted in interpretive confusion, leaving debtors and creditors with little guidance as to what criteria should be considered in negotiating an adequate assurance of payment. The recommended solution to …

Section 542(C) Of The Bankruptcy Reform Act Of 1978 And Section 4-303 Of The Ucc: A Less Than Perfect Fit?, John P. Finan

Akron Law Review

The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) 4-303 addresses two areas where the UCC and the Bankruptcy Code intersect. The first relates to the vulnerability of drawee banks that honor checks after their customer has taken bankruptcy (has filed a voluntary petition or is the defendant in an involuntary case); the second relates to the timing of transfers made by check under 547 of the Bankruptcy Code (the preference section). In both areas there is a less than perfect fit between the Bankruptcy Code and UCC 4-303. The first area poses problems for practitioners whose clients have received notice of bankruptcy in …

Section 547(C)(2) Of The Bankruptcy Code: The Ordinary Course Of Business Exception Without The 45 Day Rule, David J. Desimone

Akron Law Review

This article will look at some of the principles set forth by case law and provide a more structured method of analyzing cases under section 547(c) (2). In addition, it will examine a few problem areas that are certain to arise in section 547(c) (2) litigation in the near future: (1) Does section 547(c) (2) now protect principal payments on long term debt?; and, (2) will section 547(c) (2) protect a payment to one creditor when all or nearly all other creditors were not paid during the preference period? But before doing so, a short explanation of the Code's definition …

Not So Secure: Should Social Security Benefits Be Considered In The Good Faith Analysis Under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(A)(3)?, Casey J. Davis

Akron Law Review

Part II of this Comment provides background information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This section is important because it provides a foundation for the remainder of this Comment. Part III of this Comment explores the source of this split and how the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (“BAPCPA”) has affected this issue. Within Part III, this Comment will discuss why Congress enacted BAPCPA, the largest overhaul of bankruptcy law since its origin, and why BAPCPA did not affect the good faith requirement under § 1325(a)(3) even though BAPCPA drastically altered bankruptcy law. In addition, this section also …

Bankruptcy As An Alternative To The Statute Of Limitations For Relief From Overdue Income Taxes, Harold E. Wolfe Jr.

Akron Tax Journal

This article analyzes the situations in which a bankruptcy filing could be used as an alternative to the expiration of the statute of limitations on collections and sets forth various considerations that should be reviewed by the practitioner prior to a bankruptcy filing. Practitioners are cautioned that there are many collateral consequences resulting from a taxpayer's bankruptcy petition filing and each case must be analyzed carefully in light of the interplay of the Bankruptcy Code, the Internal Revenue Code and the sparse case law available in this area.