Law Commons^™

Reward The Stalking Horse Or Preserve The Estate: Determining The Appropriate Standard Of Review For Awarding Break-Up Fees In § 363 Sales, Zachary Frimet

Zachary Frimet

Following the surge of bankruptcies in the wake of the Great Recession, a growing and somewhat controversial trend has emerged whereby companies seeking to purchase a debtor’s assets in bankruptcy frequently make use of Section 363 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (“§ 363”). In general, § 363 sales are accomplished via public auction. This aspect of § 363 exposes initial bidders, known in bankruptcy as “stalking horses bidders”, to the risk that they will commit time and resources in pursuit of the acquisition and yet fail to succeed as the prevailing bidder. To hedge against this risk, stalking horse …

Graduating With Debt: Student Loans Under The Bankruptcy Code, Daniel Austin, Susan Hauser

Daniel A. Austin

Student loan debt in the US exceeds $1.1 trillion — more than any other type of consumer debt except for mortgage loans — while new education lending continues at an explosive pace. In this book, the authors offer expert knowledge to enable bankruptcy and consumer credit professionals to assist clients in dealing with student loan debt. The book introduces readers to the basics of student loan debt, including different types of loans and loan-forgiveness programs, delinquency and default, and administrative and non-judicial remedies for borrowers having trouble repaying their loans.

The Indentured Generation: Bankruptcy And Student Loan Debt, Daniel A. Austin

Daniel A. Austin

A generation of Americans has borrowed heavily for their education, and hundreds of thousands of them are deeply in debt. Some 37 million Americans owe a total of approximately $1 trillion dollars in student loans. They constitute an Indentured Generation as many of them will be burdened with student loan debt for much of their lives. With one of the worst job markets in decades, members of the Indentured Generation who are in particularly dire circumstances will turn to bankruptcy for a “fresh start.” But most student loan debtors will not get relief through bankruptcy. This is because the Bankruptcy …

The Indentured Generation: Bankruptcy And Student Loan Debt, Daniel A. Austin

Daniel A. Austin

THE INDENTURED GENERATION:

BANKRUPTCY AND STUDENT LOAN DEBT

By Daniel A. Austin

Associate Professor, Northeastern University School of Law

A generation of Americans has borrowed heavily for their education, and hundreds of thousands of them are deeply in debt. Some 37 million Americans owe a total of approximately $1 trillion dollars in student loans. They constitute an Indentured Generation as many of them will be burdened with student loan debt for much of their lives. With one of the worst job markets in decades, members of the Indentured Generation who are in particularly dire circumstances will turn to bankruptcy for …

The Indentured Generation: Bankruptcy And Student Loan Debt, Daniel A. Austin

Daniel A. Austin

A generation of Americans has borrowed heavily for their education, and hundreds of thousands of them are deeply in debt. Some 37 million Americans owe a total of approximately $1 trillion dollars in student loans. They constitute an Indentured Generation as many of them will be burdened with student loan debt for much of their lives. With one of the worst job markets in decades, members of the Indentured Generation who are in particularly dire circumstances will turn to bankruptcy for a “fresh start.” But most student loan debtors will not get relief through bankruptcy. This is because the Bankruptcy …

Bankruptcy And The Myth Of "Uniform Laws", Daniel A. Austin

Daniel A. Austin

The Bankruptcy Clause of the Constitution empowers Congress to enact “uniform Laws on the subject of bankruptcies.” Common definitions of the word uniform include “always the same” and “not variable.” Yet the rights and remedies of debtors and creditors in a bankruptcy case vary significantly depending upon the state and federal jurisdiction in which the case is filed. Rather than a single uniform law of bankruptcy, the U.S. has multiple bankruptcy laws and regimes based upon geography.

The cause of bankruptcy nonuniformity lies in the structure of our bankruptcy system. Many sections of the Bankruptcy Code incorporate state law, which …

The Case Against The Dodd-Frank Act’S Living Wills: Contingency Planning Following The Financial Crisis, Nizan Geslevich Packin

Nizan Geslevich Packin

The Dodd-Frank Act’s “living will” requirement mandates that systemically important financial institutions develop wide-ranging strategic analyses of their business affairs, and submit comprehensive contingency plans for reorganization or resolution of their operations to regulators. The goal is to mitigate risks to the financial stability of the US and encourage last-resort planning, which will allow for a rapid and efficient response in the event of an emergency. Beyond the general framework set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, very little is known about living wills; no legal literature currently exists on what the concept entails, and regulators have not yet created any …

How Incentives Drove The Subprime Crisis, Charles W. Murdock

Charles W. Murdock

How Incentives Drove the Subprime Crisis

In order to address any systemic problem, whether the goal is to change the system, regulate the system, or change the incentives driving a system, it is necessary to appreciate all the drivers operating within the system. In the case of the subprime crisis, one of the drivers was the changing nature of the subprime loans, which was not factored into the models used by the investment bankers, the credit rating agencies, and the issuers of credit default swaps.

This paper is an attempt to look dispassionately at the subprime crisis from a particular …

Disparities Between Asbestosis And Silicosis Claims Generated By Litigation Screenings And Clinical Studies, Lester Brickman

Lester Brickman

In 2005, U.S. District Court Judge Janis Jack, presiding over an MDL proceeding involving 10,000 claims of silicosis emanating from litigation screenings, issued a 264 page opinion rejecting the reliability of thousands of medical reports generated by those screenings. Before issuing her opinion, she ordered a Daubert hearing to assess the reliability of these medical reports which had been issued by a handful of doctors. In furtherance of this unprecedented use of a Daubert hearing in a mass tort proceeding, she compelled the production of a large volume of evidence, under threat of contempt, that the screening companies and doctors …

Asset Protection Devices: Twyne's Case Retold, Ingrid Hillinger, Claudia Tobler

Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger

No abstract provided.

Trustees Do It Better: Analyzing Section 547(C)(5) Of The Bankruptcy Code, Bobby Dexter

Bobby L. Dexter

No abstract provided.