Law Commons^™

Improving The Lives Of Individuals In Financial Distress Using A Randomized Control Trial: A Research And Clinical Approach, Lois R. Lupica, Dalie´ Jimenez, D. James Greiner, Rebecca L. Sandefur

Faculty Publications

This Article describes an ambitious Randomized Control Trial (RCT) in the area of consumer debt collection. Randomized trials are the same kind of evaluation that the law requires (or at least strongly encourages) before new drugs and medical devices may be sold to the public. Although they have not yet gained widespread popularity in the evaluation of legal systems, randomized trials are uniquely effective ways of assessing whether any benefits observed after implementation of legal or educational assistance programs are really due to those programs as compared to other factors, such as unusual levels of competence or motivation of program …

A Study Of Consumers' Post Discharge Finances: Struggle, Stasis, Or Fresh Start?, Lois R. Lupica, Jay L. Zagorsky Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The postwar U.S. has experienced an extremely sharp rise in consumer bankruptcies. What happens to these consumers financially after filing for bankruptcy? Do filers catch up with their non-filing peers, stay a constant distance behind or fall further behind over time? This question is investigated empirically using a new set of financial and bankruptcy data obtained from a large national random survey of bankruptcy filers and non-filers. Along some simple financial dimensions, such as car ownership, bankruptcy filers are not disadvantaged compared to non-filers. Along more complex indicators, such as total income and net worth, filers catch up over time …

Legislative Messaging And Bankruptcy Law, Lois R. Lupica, Karen Gross, Kathryn R. Heidt

Faculty Publications

This Essay grew out of many three-way conversations and multiple collaborative drafts. We began this conversation at the academic conference in 2003 celebrating the Bankruptcy Code’s upcoming 25th Anniversary. Sadly, we did not have the opportunity to finish either the conversations or to finalize this Essay before Kate Heidt’s untimely death in May 2005. Completed in her absence, this Essay is dedicated to the memory of our close friend and colleague, Professor Kathryn R. Heidt.

The Impact Of Revised Article 9, Lois R. Lupica

Faculty Publications

Under Revised Article 9, secured creditors are granted greater rights than they had under former Article 9. We now have a secured credit system whereby secured creditors can more easily encumber a greater number of types of assets and can securitize more types of assets with greater certainty. These revisions were justified on the grounds of efficiency, although the impact of these revisions was not empirically proven. This article sets forth a research protocol for the study of Revised Article 9's impact on the credit markets.

The Effect Of Bankruptcy Upon A Firm Using Patents And Trademarks As Collateral, Lois R. Lupica

Faculty Publications

The Bankruptcy Code sets forth an orderly process for the distribution of a debtor-in-bankruptcy's assets. This process has the effect of altering many of the procedural and substantive rights and obligations of the debtor, as well as of the debtor's creditors. Parties asserting a property interest in assets of a debtor in bankruptcy, however, must rely on nonbankruptcy law to determine the nature and extent of their property interests. The most commonly asserted interest by creditors involved in a bankruptcy are security interests.

Revised Article 9, The Proposed Bankruptcy Code Amendments And Securitizing Debtors And Their Creditors, Lois R. Lupica

Faculty Publications

The new provisions in Revised Article 9 both reflects the drafters’ decision to enhance secured creditors’ rights, but also includes myriad provisions designed to facilitate securitization transactions. Because bankruptcy law looks to state law (specifically Article 9) to determine the rights of creditors and transferees with respect to personal property, changes to Article 9 are in effect, changes to bankruptcy law. The question raised by the changes to Article 9 is whether these changes are consistent with our historical understanding of bankruptcy policy.

Revised Article 9, Securitization Transactions And The Bankruptcy Dynamic, Lois R. Lupica

Faculty Publications

Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code ("U.C.C.")1 is the law governing the creation, perfection, and enforcement of security interests in personal property. Originally enacted in 1960,2 Article 9 was substantially revised in 1972 in response to changes in commercial financing markets and practices. Since this last revision, there have been further changes, including technological advances, affecting commercial practice and custom. These changes have led the Permanent Editorial Board for the U.C.C. ("PEB") to recommend to the American Law Institute ("ALI") and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws ("NCCUSL") that Article 9, once again, be significantly revised. …

Asset Securitization: The Unsecured Creditor's Perspective, Lois R. Lupica

Faculty Publications

The Article examines assumptions behind literature that uncritically assumes that securitization transactions are necessarily efficient, finding that these assumptions are unwarranted. The Article is the first to view securitization transactions from an unsecured creditor’s perspective, and concludes that from such a perspective, securitization is not the panacea its proponents claim it to be.

The article first defines structured finance and describes the nature of the current market for asset-backed securities. Then, it outlines the benefits that securitization provides to originators and other transaction participants. With that background, it turns to the debate on the efficiency of secured transactions, applies the …