Law Commons^™

Crowdsourcing (Bankruptcy) Fee Control, Matthew Bruckner

Matthew Adam Bruckner

In this article, I explore how crowdsourcing can help reduce the cost of professional representation in corporate bankruptcy cases. The cost of professional representation in bankruptcy cases is currently a hot topic, with oral argument haven taken place before the U.S. Supreme Court in Baker Botts L.L.P. v. Asarco, L.L.C. in February 2015, which case addressed various issues raised in my article. In brief, the fees of lawyers, investment bankers, and other bankruptcy professionals has been spiraling out of control because chapter 11’s existing fee control system is broken. That system can neither identify nor control professional overcharging, which empirical …

Flexible Finality In Bankruptcy: The Right To Appeal A Denial Of Plan Confirmation, Joseph L. Nepowada

Joseph L Nepowada

This Article examines the current state of the law interpreting what “finality” means in context of a bankruptcy proceeding and what effect that interpretation has on the appealability of certain orders, such as the denial of plan confirmation under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding. The article highlights nine courts of appeals and their decisions concerning the appealability of a denial of a plan confirmation and it is apparent that the courts are split with three courts of appeal allowing a debtor to appeal a denial of plan confirmation as a matter of right, while six courts of appeal will deny …

The Intersection Of Tax And Bankruptcy: The Mccoy Rule, John Ferguson

John Ferguson

No abstract provided.

Against Regulatory Displacement: An Institutional Analysis Of Financial Crises, Jonathan C. Lipson

Jonathan C. Lipson

This paper uses “institutional analysis”—the study of the relative capacities of markets, courts, and regulators—to make three claims about financial crises.

First, financial crises are increasingly a problem of “regulatory displacement.” Through the ad hoc rescues of 2008 and the Dodd-Frank reforms of 2010, regulators displace market and judicial processes that ordinarily prevent financial distress from becoming financial crises. Because regulators are vulnerable to capture by large financial services firms, however, they cannot address the pathologies that create crises: market concentration and complexity. Indeed, regulators may inadvertently aggravate these conditions through resolution tactics that consolidate firms, and the volume and …

The Fiduciary Duties Of Directors And Officers In Insolvent Corporations: A Uniform International Standard?, William H. Hudson

William H Hudson

This Article explores the complicated field of fiduciary duties governing corporate directors and officers in companies facing or dealing with insolvency. It provides both a macro and micro level investigation into the vast differences in corporate fiduciary duties across jurisdictions. This Article provides the results of a broad and unique survey conducted across the globe to gain an accurate perspective regarding the inconsistencies facing corporate directors and officers dealing with new or emerging fiduciary duties. The findings of this survey will be presented to the International Insolvency Institute at its annual meeting in Paris, France on June 21, 2012. This …

Incorporating Social Justice Concerns Into The New Law And Development Movement: The Importance Of Insolvency Law, Julia M. Davis Ms.

Julia M Davis Ms.

This paper focuses on insolvency law as an underutilized area for incorporating social justice concerns into legal reform projects in developing countries. Insolvency is an area of law that already plays a large role in legal development projects and is especially suited for incorporating social justice concerns because of its ability to redistribute wealth and safeguard vulnerable interests. In arguing that insolvency law should be better exploited by social justice advocates this paper briefly reviews the history and literature surrounding the “Legal Development Movement” (LDM) and discusses the responsibilities of development agencies to incorporate social justice concerns into economically-focused legal …

Chapter 11 Triage: Diagnosing A Debtor's Prospects For Success, Anne Lawton

Anne Lawton

Chapter 11 Triage: Diagnosing A Debtor's Prospects for Success by Anne Lawton In 2005, Congress enacted a number of provisions aimed at improving success rates for Chapter 11 small business debtors. The available empirical data, albeit limited in scope, showed startlingly low rates of plan confirmation. Conventional wisdom attributed the plan confirmation problem to the high failure rate of the Chapter 11 small business debtor. This Article presents the results of a large empirical study of Chapter 11 cases filed in 2004, the year before the small business amendments. The study examines the following questions. First, are confirmation rates in …

11 U.S.C. § 1222(A)(2)(A): Do You Think The Rain Will Ruin The Rhubarb?: Solutions To The Issues Raining Down On Farmers Attempting To Discharge Post-Petition Taxes Resulting From Bankrupcty, Merrill A. Hanson

Merrill A. Hanson

The Supreme Court should interpret section 1222 of the bankruptcy code broadly enough to discharge farmers’ post-petition income tax debts by considering the effects of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”) as a statement of Congress’s intent with chapter 12. Congress has shown leniency towards farmers’ bankruptcy reorganizations which is inferred by the structure of the code. The utility of reorganization will be undermined if Congress’s intent is ignored because farmers will be forced to convert their chapter 12 reorganizations to chapter 13 reorganizations or chapter 7 liquidations. In other words, farmers’ chapter 12 options will be …

All In One Basket: The Bankruptcy Risk Of A National Agent-Based Mortgage Recording System, John P. Hunt

John P Hunt

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS, Inc.”) owns legal title to some 30 million mortgages in the United States. The company, which was a key part of the mortgage securitization apparatus in the late 1990s and 2000s, is now under intense pressure from public and private lawsuits and investigations and faces a very real threat of insolvency. Policymakers are looking ahead to potential replacements for MERS, Inc., as a recent Fed staff proposal for a substitute system indicates. This Article examines what might happen to the mortgages that MERS, Inc. at least nominally owns in the event that the company …

Investing In Distressed Italian Companies Under The Reformed Italian Bankruptcy Law - A Comparison With The Us Bankruptcy Code, Pierantonio Musso

Pierantonio Musso

This article presents a scheme to profitably invest in distressed Italian companies by taking advantage of the Italian Bankruptcy Law in comparison with the US Bankruptcy Code. The risks connected to the insolvency proceeding are analyzed under their economic effects and foreseen in their general appearance. Specific remedies to avoid or mitigate the potential risks are provided. Singular advantages, available only in the proposed investment scheme under the Italian Law, are described. As a result the investment produces a less risky and more profitable outcome than an investment in a non-distressed and non-Italian target company.

Delaware’S Relevance In Chapter 22: Who Is “Courting Failure” Now?, Ruth S. Lee

Ruth S Lee

This study presents surprising new statistical evidence that contributes to the current “over-heated” academic debate about the Delaware courts’ role in Chapter 11 failure. In 2001, Professor LoPucki published an influential article suggesting that when large corporations file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, they fail at a dramatically higher rate in Delaware courts than in other jurisdictions. He attributed this to corruption. His article enraged many academics and practitioners, and ignited many articles in the past two decades. This study presents startling evidence that while Chapter 11s filed in Delaware courts did have much higher failure rates from 1991-1996, after …

How Consumer Bankruptcy Reforms Can Help Save Microfinance In India, David E. Solan

David E Solan

The microfinance industry, once touted as one of the best hopes for alleviating poverty in rural India, faced a near collapse in the winter of 2011 as nearly all borrowers in Andhra Pradesh, one of the largest states in India, stopped repaying their loans. This borrower backlash was fueled by widely reported stories of farmer suicides and unscrupulous lending practices. Politicians have responded with populist legislation aimed at curtailing microfinance in India—for example, by capping interest rates. The Article argues that these proposals are misguided in that they would constrict lending to poor villagers.

The Article questions why Indian policymakers …