Bankruptcy Law Commons^™

Emerging Circuit Split Over Modification Of Mortgages On Multi-Use Real Properties, Michal Zabadal

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

For many decades, healthy levels of residential mortgage loans (“RMLs”) and their regulation have been among the major drivers of the economy. Because of the importance of RMLs for the condition of the national financial system and the general well-being of the society, it is essential that lenders are reasonably incentivized to originate these loans. A well-designed promise of higher recovery on RMLs in times of distress can be a compelling motivator. The Bankruptcy Code seeks to deliver on that promise by treating RMLs more favorably. It does that by barring the debtor-in-bankruptcy from modifying a claim secured by a …

Sec V. Creditors: Why Sec Civil Enforcement Practice Demonstrates The Need For A Reprioritization Of Securities Fraud Claims In Bankruptcy, Sean Kelly

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note examines how this tension has motivated the SEC to use receiverships as a preferred vehicle to maximize recovery for defrauded security holders and, in the process, create what amounts to an SEC-run bankruptcy proceeding. The use of these receiverships has triggered a high-stakes race to the courthouse among the SEC and creditors, where mere hours can be the difference between millions in recovery and nothing at all. To end this costly race, this Note proposes a solution that seeks to harmonize securities fraud enforcement with bankruptcy law, which starts with revisiting Bankruptcy Code § 510(b) to reprioritize …

Time For An Update: A New Framework For Evaluating Chapter 9 Bankruptcies, Michael J. Deitch

Fordham Law Review

Municipal bankruptcies have been making national news since the “Great Recession.” Municipalities like Stockton, Vallejo, and Jefferson County gained notoriety for the record scale of their bankruptcy filings, only to be surpassed by Detroit shortly thereafter as the largest and most populous municipal bankruptcy filing. Historically, municipal bankruptcy occurred infrequently, leaving the nuances of many critical issues, including insolvency, asset utilization, and good faith, unexplored in case law. For example, how should a bankruptcy court analyze Detroit’s cityowned art museum that houses billions of dollars of art when bondholders, pensioners, and other unsecured creditors have unpaid claims? And how should …

Betting On The Upside: Why Affirming River Road Favors Distressed Debt Speculators Over The Rehabilitation Of Businesses, Julia L. Onorato

Northwestern University Law Review

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy process demands a careful balance between protecting the creditors’ rights to be repaid and allowing a failing entity the ability to restructure. The Supreme Court in RadLAX Gateway Hotel affirmed the Seventh Circuit’s holding in River Road and interpreted the Bankruptcy Code in a way that improperly shifts this balance towards the most senior creditors at the expense of business. This Note will analyze the circuit disagreement over the cramdown provision in the Bankruptcy Code and the Supreme Court’s ultimate resolution. It will argue that in light of recent trends in the credit markets - including …

Secured Credit And Insolvency Law In Argentina And The U.S.: Gaining Insight From A Comparative Perspective, Guillermo A. Moglia Claps, Julian B. Mcdonnell

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Effects Of The New Bankruptcy Code On Creditors With Secured Claims In Residential Real Property, Richard Mednick

Pepperdine Law Review

The sweeping changes brought about by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 may have a profound effect on the secured interests of lenders. The rights of a creditor against a debtor, and the procedure that he must follow vary with the chapter of the new Bankruptcy Code under which the debtor files his claim. Richard Mednick, a Judge on the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, explains the procedures required and the interest affected by the most commonly invoked chapters of the new code. Judge Mednick strongly urges that creditors become familiar with these changes, as some new …

The Manville Corporation Bankruptcy: An Abuse Of The Judicial Process?, Mark Kunkler

Pepperdine Law Review

Federal bankruptcy law offers a refuge to the honest debtor who is unable to pay his creditor's when his debts are due. Here, the twin aims of bankruptcy law, to give the debtor a fresh start and to provide roughly equal treatment for his! Creditors, are laudably accomplished. But what policies support the use of federal bankruptcy law when the "debtor" is in fact solvent and apparently seeks refuge only to escape liability for the products it manufactures? This comment examines the recent filing of the Manville Corporation for Chapter 11 protection under bankruptcy law with this question in mind.

The New Value Exception To The Absolute Priority Rule In Chapter 11 Reorganizations: What Should The Rule Be? , Linda J. Rusch

Pepperdine Law Review

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.

Not Out Of The (Fox)Woods Yet: Indian Gaming And The Bankruptcy Code, Emir Aly Crowne, Andrew Black, S. Alex Constantin

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

The recent economic downturn has caused Foxwoods Resort Casino, one of the largest casinos in the world, to seek a restructuring of nearly $1.5 billion in debt. Ordinarily, bankruptcy proceedings are triggered when a typical commercial enterprise defaults on its debt. Under these proceedings, creditors step in and collect monies owed to them before any residual equity is dispersed amongst owners. The rub here is that Foxwoods is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Western Pequot Tribal Nation, a sovereign nation under U.S. federal law. This triggers questions of paramountcy; namely, whether tribunal sovereignty can trump federal bankruptcy law.

These …

Chip Away At The Stone: The Validity Of Pre-Bankruptcy Clauses Contracting Around Section 363 Of The Bankruptcy Code, Matthew P. Goren

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Case For Cooperative Territoriality In International Bankruptcy, Lynn M. Lopucki

Michigan Law Review

Universalism - the idea that a multinational debtor's "home country" should have worldwide jurisdiction over its bankruptcy - has long had tremendous appeal to bankruptcy professionals. Yet, the international community repeatedly has refused to adopt conventions that would make universalism a reality. In an article published last year, I proposed an explanation. Universalism can work only in a world with essentially uniform laws governing bankruptcy �nd priority among creditors - a world that does not yet exist. Because it is impossible to fix the location of a multinational company in a global economy, the introduction of universalism in current world …

Resolving Transnational Insolvencies Through Private Ordering, Robert K. Rasmussen

Michigan Law Review

There is no international bankruptcy law. No question, there are international insolvencies. Transnational firms, just like domestic ones, often cannot generate sufficient revenue to satisfy their debt obligations. Their financial distress creates a situation where assets and claimants are scattered across more than one country. But there is no international law that provides a set of rules for resolving the financial distress of these firms. The absence of any significant free-standing international bankruptcy treaty means that a domestic court confronted with the domestic part of a transnational enterprise has to decide which nation's domestic bankruptcy law will apply to which …

Conversion Of Nonexempt Property To Exempt Property On The Eve Of Bankruptcy In Arkansas, J. Thomas Hardin

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Debtor-Creditor Relations—Arkansas Fraudulent Transfer Act, Coleen Miller Barger

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy—Labor Contribution By Juror Interest Satisfies Fair And Equitable Standard For Cram Down, Kimberly Golden

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Title Iii Of The Bankruptcy Amendments Act Of 1984: The Substantive Changes, Lucinda Mcdaniel

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy—Eighth Circuit's Analysis Of The Chapter 13 Good Faith Requirement, Robert Victor Harper

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Bankruptcy Reform Act Of 1978–A Review And Comments, Glenn E. Pasvogel Jr.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Action And Statutory Liens In Arkansas–A Reply To Professor Nickles, Earl M. Maltz

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Action And Statutory Liens In Arkansas–A Rejoinder To Professor Maltz, Steve H. Nickles

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Security Aspects Of The Abc Transaction, John T. Schmidt

Michigan Law Review

In recent years, investments in subterraneous oil and gas have become a common addition to the investment portfolios of national financial institutions. Relying on the assurances of reputable geological studies, traditionally conservative financers have invested amounts ranging up to several hundred million dollars against collateral once accepted only by speculators and a few adventurous oil-country bankers. The increased interest in these investments is in part attributable to the development of the ABC method of financing the purchase of producing oil and gas properties. This method offers unique tax advantages, which have been discussed elsewhere, but also creates problems for the …

Bankruptcy Preferences-Secured Transactions-Security Interest In After-Acquired Property Is Voidable Preference If Received Within Four Months Of Bankruptcy-In Re Portland Newspaper Publishing Co., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In an effort to provide employment for several hundred workers who had lost their jobs in an unsuccessful strike against Portland's two largest newspapers, the local printers' unions and several civic leaders organized the Portland Reporter Publishing Co. (Reporter) to publish a rival newspaper. The unions also formed the Rose City Development Co. (Rose City), which leased facilities and equipment to Reporter and subsequently made several emergency operating loans to it. These loans were secured by an agreement designating as collateral all of Reporter's previously unsecured accounts receivable, both present and after-accruing. This type of agreement -securing after-acquired property of …

The Relative Priority Of Small Business Administration Liens: An Unreasonable Extension Of Federal Preference?, Ronald L. Olson

Michigan Law Review

During the past three decades, the priority of the federal government as against state and private creditors competing for the assets of debtors has been greatly strengthened. In terms of relative growth, the expansion of federal priority has been comparable to the increased commercial involvement of the United States. In more recent years, Congress and the judiciary have recognized that this increased governmental commercial activity necessitates a restriction in sovereign prerogatives. However, contrary to this general trend toward the contraction of sovereign prerogatives and for reasons appearing unsatisfactory to most commentators, the "sovereign prerogative" of priority to the assets of …

The Problem Of Consumer Bankruptcy: Is Amendment Of The Bankruptcy Act The Answer?, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The question of whether the current frequency of consumer bankruptcy is a necessary function of consumer credit remains unanswered. The burgeoning number of consumer bankruptcies in a period of unparalleled national prosperity suggests fundamental weaknesses in the credit-oriented economy. Bankruptcy filings, now numbering nearly 172,000 annually, have trebled over the past decade. For twelve consecutive years the number of petitions filed has exceeded that of the prior year. Nonbusiness bankruptcies, most of which offer no assets for distribution, constitute ninety per cent of all filings.

Bankruptcy--Section 70c--Recent Reactions To Constance V. Harvey, George Sidney Buchanan Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Renewed interest in section 70c has developed recently, primarily because of several significant decisions in the federal courts. It is the purpose of this comment to consider the impact of these developments on the power of the trustee to avoid otherwise valid security devices.

Creditor's Rights - Fraudulent Conveyances - Security Assignment Of Contract Payments Void If Assignor Retains Control, John A. Beach S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

An insolvent debtor, who owed some $3,500 on plaintiff's partially-collected judgment, executed an instrument assigning to another creditor, a bank, all moneys due and to become due to the debtor under an existing contract, expressly as security for payment of the debtor's present and future indebtedness to the bank. The contract obligor was notified of the assignment, and thereafter the bank collected the amounts periodically accruing under the contract. The bank applied part of these collected amounts to the balance that the debtor owed the bank. The rest was either handed over to the debtor or credited to his general …