Bankruptcy Law Commons^™

Ponzi Schemes In Bankruptcy, Honorable Dorothy T. Eisenberg, Nicholas W. Quesenberry

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

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.

Trademarked For Death? A Licensee's Trademark Rights After An Executory Contract Is Rejected In Bankruptcy, Philip L. Lu

Vanderbilt Law Review

In 1872, a young man named Claudio Alvarez Lefebre began manufacturing and selling high-quality rum in Cuba under the brand name "Ron Matusalem." In 1948, as the family-run business prospered, the company registered a trademark and corporate logo in the United States. Upon his death, Lefebre left the business-and the secret formulas for making his rum-to his wife and children. By the early 1960s, Lefebre's wife and children had immigrated to the United States, and they split the rum-making business into two separate corporations. These two distinct entities negotiated an executory contract in the form of a franchise agreement with …

Conflicting Preferences In Business Bankruptcy: The Need For Different Rules In Different Chapters, Brook E. Gotberg

Faculty Publications

The law of preferential transfers permits the trustee of a bankruptcy estate to avoid transfers made by the debtor to a creditor on account of a prior debt in the 90 days leading up to the bankruptcy proceeding. The standard for avoiding these preferential transfers is one of strict liability, on the rationale that preference actions exist to ensure that all general creditors of the bankruptcy estate recover the same proportional amount, regardless of the debtor's intent to favor any one creditor or the creditor's intent to be so favored. But preference law also permits certain exceptions to strict preference …

A Public Pensions Bailout: Economics And Law, Terrance O'Reilly

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In several states, public pension plans are at risk of insolvency within a decade. These risks are significant, and the solutions currently contemplated are likely to fall short of what is necessary to contain the problem. If public pension plans do become insolvent, it seems likely the federal government will bail them out. This Article proposes that the federal government prepare for the prospect of federal financial support of public pension plans by instituting an optional regulatory regime for public pensions. If a state elects not to participate, its public pension plans would be ineligible for federal financial support. In …

Moving Beyond Marriage: A Proposed Unit Of Presumed Economic Interdependence For Joint Filing Purposes In Bankruptcy And In Tax, Heather V. Graham

Pace Law Review

In order to promote both equality and efficiency, this Comment proposes that individuals should have the opportunity to file jointly for tax and bankruptcy purposes when they have a relationship predicated upon economic interdependence, as opposed to basing the opportunity to file jointly upon marital status. Part I of this Comment will briefly discuss the history of marriage in the United States. In particular, Part I will discuss the role that the government has had in promoting and regulating marriage and how the treatment of married persons operates to the exclusion of the unmarried. Parts II and III of this …

When Should Bankruptcy Be An Option (For People, Places, Or Things)?, David A. Skeel Jr.

William & Mary Law Review

When many people think about bankruptcy, they have a simple left-to-right spectrum of possibilities in mind. The spectrum starts with personal bankruptcy, moves next to corporations and other businesses, and then to municipalities, states, and finally countries. We assume that bankruptcy makes the most sense for individuals; that it makes a great deal of sense for corporations; that it is plausible but a little more suspect for cities; that it would be quite odd for states; and that bankruptcy is unimaginable for a country.

In this Article, I argue that the left-to-right spectrum is sensible but mistaken. After defining “bankruptcy,” …

House Swaps: A Strategic Bankruptcy Solution To The Foreclosure Crisis, Lynn M. Lopucki

Michigan Law Review

Since the price peak in 2006, home values have fallen more than 30 percent, leaving millions of Americans with negative equity in their homes. Until the Supreme Court’s 1993 decision in Nobelman v. American Savings Bank, the bankruptcy system would have provided many such homeowners with a remedy. They could have filed bankruptcy, discharged the negative equity, committed to pay the mortgage holders the full values of their homes, and retained those homes. In Nobelman, however, the Court misinterpreted reasonably clear statutory language and invented legislative history to resolve a three-to-one split of circuits in favor of the minority view …

Pensioners, Bondholders, And Unfair Discrimination In Municipal Bankruptcy, Andrew B. Dawson

Articles

Detroit recently confirmed its plan of debt adjustment under which the city has endeavored to adjust its pension obligations. The court's confirmation order and oral opinion on the record present what is perhaps the most significant decision regarding a key question facing any city attempting to adjust pensions in bankruptcy: can a city propose to pay its pension claimants significantly more than its other unsecured creditors? This question involves interpreting the Bankruptcy Code's unfair discrimination rule.

The Detroit bankruptcy court applied a novel interpretation of unfair discrimination, eschewing the relatively thin body of case law interpreting this rule, and suggesting …

Whether A Contract Is Divisible For Purposes Of Section 365 Of The Bankruptcy Code, Christopher Bolz

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code governs the assumption, rejection, and assignment of executory contracts and unexpired leases in bankruptcy cases. Although the definition of an executory contract has not been codified, it is considered to be a contract that has not been fully performed. The assumption or rejection of an executory contract is achieved through court approval, except in certain instances concerning Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Rejection leads to a non-administrative unsecured claim for damages. Following rejection, neither the estate nor the other party owes performance to one another.

The trustee or debtor in possession must assume or reject …

Whether The Absolute Priority Rule Has Been Abrogated In Individual Chapter 11 Cases, Colin Coburn

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

In recent years, a debate has been raging over whether the absolute priority rule in applies to individual chapter 11 debtors. Essentially, the absolute priority rule dictates that junior creditors cannot retain anything under a plan if an objecting senior creditor is not paid in full. If each class of creditor does not consent to a plan of reorganization, a bankruptcy court can still confirm the plan if it meets statutory requirements and is deemed “fair and equitable.” This method of confirmation is known as a “cramdown.” In order for a plan to be “fair and equitable,” it must, …

S-Corp And Qsub Tax Status As Property Of The Bankruptcy Estate, Ryan Jennings

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Under the Internal Revenue Code, a corporation can elect to be an “S” Corporation (“S-Corp”) for federal income tax purposes. Electing for S-Corp status will make the corporation a pass through entity, meaning that the corporation itself will not have any tax benefits or liability. Instead, the company’s income will be passed on to it shareholders, who will have to report it on their personal tax returns. Similarly, an S-Corp that owns a subsidiary corporation can elect to treat it as qualified subchapter S subsidiary (“QSub”). A QSub is also a pass through entity that passes its tax benefits …

Contract Claims And The Willful And Malicious Injury Exception To The Discharge In Bankruptcy, Scott F. Norberg

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Section 362(C)(3): Does It Terminate The Entire Automatic Stay?, Michael Aryeh

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Section 362 operates to create an automatic stay upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition. The automatic stay, among other things, prevents a debtor’s creditors from seeking to enforce a judgment against a debtor or against property of the estate, taking any act to obtain possession of property of the estate, or taking any act to create or enforce a lien. Section 362, however, does contain numerous provisions that provide for limitations to the automatic stay.

Among these provisions is section 362(c)(3)(A), which provides in relevant part that “if a single or joint case is filed by or against …

Determining When Projected Disposable Income Test May Be A Basis For A Post-Confirmation Modification, Steven Ching

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

In order for a chapter 13 plan to be confirmed, the plan must provide that the debtor will contribute his projected disposable income towards his plan payments. However, circumstances may change after confirmation of the chapter 13 plan, and the debtor or trustee may find themselves in need to modify the plan payment. Under section 1329 of the Bankruptcy Code, the debtor, trustee, or an unsecured creditor may request to modify the plan after confirmation of the plan but before completion of the payments.

Generally, bankruptcy courts have broad discretion to approve or disapprove a post-confirmation modification of a …

Professional Firm Retention: Determining Whether A Professional Is A “Professional Person” Within Section 327(A) Of The Bankruptcy Code, Alexandra Hastings

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

An important issue in chapter 11 cases is whether a “professional person” qualifies as a bankruptcy “professional” within section 327(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. Section 327(a) requires that a trustee or debtor-in-possession must seek court approval for the employment of attorneys, accountants, appraisers, auctioneers, or other “professional persons” assisting the debtor with its bankruptcy case. Further, section 327(a) specifies, among other things, that a trustee or debtor-in-possession may only employ professionals that are “disinterested persons” to assist in the administration of the debtor’s bankruptcy case. The failure to obtain court approval under section 327(a) “may result in the denial …

Whether Funds Transferred From Trust Account Can Be “Property Of The Debtor” That Is Subject To A Fraudulent Transfer Claim, Adam C.B. Lanza

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

One of the main purposes of bankruptcy is to maximize the value of the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of creditors. Consistent with this goal of maximizing the value of a bankrupt estate, a bankruptcy trustee has certain “avoidance powers” that are codified in chapter 5 of the Bankruptcy Code. These broad powers allow the trustee to file adversary proceedings to avoid certain pre- and post-petition transfers of property of the debtor. After a trustee avoids a transfer, the “transferred property is returned to the estate for the benefit of all persons who have presented valid claims.”

One common …

Whether Non-Spousal Inherited Retirement Accounts Are Exempt Under The Bankruptcy Code, Kimberly Tracey

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Recently, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in In re Clark, adopted a new approach to the treatment of non-spousal inherited individual retirement accounts (hereinafter referred to as IRAs) in bankruptcy cases. This case exemplified a typical situation in which a debtor inherits a non-spousal IRA, and then files for bankruptcy. Often times this debtor will claim that the non-spousal, inherited IRA is a “retirement account” that is exempt from the bankruptcy estate under sections 522(b)(3)(C) and (d)(12) of the Bankruptcy Code. However, frequently the trustee managing the bankruptcy estate will object to the debtor’s proposed …

Securitization Of Aberrant Contract Receivables, Thomas E. Plank

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Originators of traditional receivables, such as automobile loans, use securitization and structured finance debt transactions to obtain financing at lower net costs than traditional secured financing. The typical securitization or structured finance debt transaction combines (i) a sale of receivables to a separate, bankruptcy remote, special purpose legal entity (an “SPE”) and (ii) a loan to the SPE secured by the receivables. This combination produces lower net financing costs because the SPE’s lender can obtain repayment of its loan from the receivables while avoiding the costs that the Bankruptcy Code imposes on direct secured lenders to originators that could become …

Not Just Anna Nicole Smith: Cleavage In Bankruptcy, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

This is an essay about the unwarranted erosion of two basic bankruptcy principles:the cleavage effect of a debtor's filing of a bankruptcy petition and the equality of treatment of prepetition unsecured claims. These are two of the most fundamental bankruptcy concepts. First courts and then Congress have fashioned rules favoring the prepetition unsecured claims of vendors and lessors that are inconsistent with these concepts. We explore the origins of such favored treatment, question the commonly offered policy justifications, and argue that the prepetition unsecured claims of vendors and lessors generally should be afforded the same treatment in bankruptcy as other …

When Churches Reorganize, Pamela Foohey

Scholarly Works

This Article combines an analysis of documents submitted in connection with Chapter 11 cases filed by religious organizations with the results of in-depth interviews with these organizations’ leaders and their bankruptcy attorneys to assess whether reorganization has the potential to offer an effective solution to these debtors’ financial distress. In doing, it makes three contributions. First, it identifies a subset of organizations that seemed more likely to turn to bankruptcy: small congregationalist and non-denominational churches, often with predominately African-American membership. The Article pinpoints salient questions about these churches’ access to credit and use of bankruptcy for future study. Second, it …

Rollover Risk: Ideating A U.S. Debt Default, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines how a U.S. debt default might occur, how it could be avoided, its potential consequences if not avoided, and how those consequences could be mitigated. To that end, the article differentiates defaults caused by insolvency from defaults caused by illiquidity. The latter, which are potentiated by rollover risk (the risk that the government will be temporarily unable to borrow sufficient funds to repay its maturing debt), are not only plausible but have occurred in the past. Moreover, the ongoing controversy over the federal debt ceiling and the rise of the shadow-banking system make these types of defaults …

The Bankruptcy-Law Safe Harbor For Derivatives: A Path-Dependence Analysis, Steven L. Schwarcz, Ori Sharon

Faculty Scholarship

U.S. bankruptcy law grants special rights and immunities to creditors in derivatives transactions, including virtually unlimited enforcement rights. This article argues that these rights and immunities result from a form of path dependence, a sequence of industry-lobbied legislative steps, each incremental and in turn serving as apparent justification for the next step, without a rigorous and systematic vetting of the consequences. Because the resulting “safe harbor” has not been fully vetted, its significance and utility should not be taken for granted; and thus regulators, legislators, and other policymakers—whether in the United States or abroad—should not automatically assume, based on its …

Derivatives And Collateral: Balancing Remedies And Systemic Risk, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Swords, Shields, And Shackles: Human And Corporate "Persons" Under The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention And Consumer Protection Act Of 2005, Linda E. Coco

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

House Swaps: A Strategic Bankruptcy Solution To The Foreclosure Crisis, Lynn M. Lopucki

UF Law Faculty Publications

Since the price peak in 2006, home values have fallen more than 30%, leaving millions of Americans with negative equity in their homes. Until the Supreme Court’s 1993 decision in Nobelman v. American Savings Bank, the bankruptcy system would have provided many such homeowners with a remedy. They could have filed bankruptcy, discharged the negative equity, committed to pay the mortgage holders the full values of their homes, and retained those homes. In Nobelman, the Court misinterpreted reasonably clear statutory language and invented legislative history to resolve a 3-1 split of circuits in favor of the minority view. The Court …

When Churches Reorganize, Pamela Foohey

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The article complements and expands the author’s prior article, Bankrupting the Faith. This article primarily relies on interviews with attorneys who represented religious organizations in chapter 11 bankruptcy to assess whether reorganization has the potential to offer an effective solution to religious organizations’ financial problems. In doing so, it makes three contributions. First, it tracks the post-bankruptcy outcomes of a portion of the debtors to find that approximately 65% remained operating post-bankruptcy; these outcomes contradict previous studies of small business bankruptcy and are important to current debates about reforming small business bankruptcy. Given this—and in keeping with the ABLJ’s …

Clearinghouses As Liquidity Partitioning, Richard Squire

Faculty Scholarship

To reduce the risk of another financial crisis, the Dodd-Frank Act requires that trading in certain derivatives be backed by clearinghouses. Critics mount two main objections: a clearinghouse shifts risk instead of reducing it; and a clearinghouse could fail, requiring a bailout. This Article’s observation that clearinghouses engage in liquidity partitioning answers both. Liquidity partitioning means that when one of its member firms becomes bankrupt, a clearinghouse keeps a portion of the firm’s most liquid assets, and a matching portion of its short-term debt, out of the bankruptcy estate. The clearinghouse then applies the first toward immediate repayment of the …

Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction After Executive Benefits Insurance Agency V. Arkison, Keith Sharfman, G. Ray Warner

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Bankruptcy law has been struggling for several years now with the so-called "Stern problem”—the jurisdictional cloud of doubt that has been cast by the Supreme Court's decision in Stern v. Marshall over much of the work that bankruptcy courts have done routinely for decades. Since Stern was decided, bankruptcy courts and the litigants who appear before them cannot be confident that it is constitutional for non-Article III bankruptcy judges to adjudicate various matters over which there is clear statutory jurisdiction, such as avoidance actions against third party transferees who are not otherwise involved or participating in the bankruptcy …

Hedge Funds In Bankruptcy, Keith Sharfman, G. Ray Warner

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Hedge funds and other professional and institutional investors are playing an increasingly important role in bankruptcy cases. As buyers of financially distressed securities, they provide a valuable outlet for holders of such securities who wish to exit those markets. They also facilitate the consolidation of distressed securities into the hands of owners who are well-equipped to press for outcomes in Chapter 11 cases that maximize the value of those securities. At the same time, the active participation of hedge funds in the bankruptcy process at times gives them access to nonpublic information that may afford them an undue advantage …