Bankruptcy Law Commons^™

Taxes And Ability To Pay In Municipal Bankruptcy, John Patrick Hunt

Washington Law Review

Scholars and commentators have argued that municipalities can and should use bankruptcy to shed unwanted liabilities, particularly employee healthcare and pension commitments. Courts increasingly have agreed: Detroit’s approved bankruptcy plan cut pensions, and the bankruptcy court overseeing the bankruptcy of Stockton, California brought down barriers to pension-cutting. Both courts found their way around state provisions arguably protecting municipal pensions. Now that pension-cutting in bankruptcy has momentum, we can expect to hear arguments for using bankruptcy not just in cases like Detroit and Stockton where the municipality cannot meet all its obligations, but also in cases where residents or politicians come …

Taxes And Ability To Pay In Municipal Bankruptcy, John Patrick Hunt

Washington Law Review

Scholars and commentators have argued that municipalities can and should use bankruptcy to shed unwanted liabilities, particularly employee healthcare and pension commitments. Courts increasingly have agreed: Detroit’s approved bankruptcy plan cut pensions, and the bankruptcy court overseeing the bankruptcy of Stockton, California brought down barriers to pension-cutting. Both courts found their way around state provisions arguably protecting municipal pensions. Now that pension-cutting in bankruptcy has momentum, we can expect to hear arguments for using bankruptcy not just in cases like Detroit and Stockton where the municipality cannot meet all its obligations, but also in cases where residents or politicians come …

Banks, Break-Ins, And Bad Actors In Mortgage Foreclosure, Christopher K. Odinet

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Overcoming Hurdles In The Enforceability Of Make-Whole Provisions, Brian Patrick Mcbride

University of Miami Law Review

There have been recent conflicting decisions in U.S. district courts of New York, Delaware, and others states regarding to the enforceability of make-whole provisions in bankruptcy. The ambiguity created by the courts’ decisions has caused uncertainty for all parties involved in these kinds of loan documents. This comment is an analysis of the enforceability of make-whole provisions in the context of bankruptcy in light of the recent decisions. In order for a makewhole or a no-call provision to be upheld, a number of hurdles must be cleared. The provisions must be valid under both state law and bankruptcy law. Make-whole …

No Misrepresentation Needed: Excepting Discharge For Actual Fraud Under 11 U.S.C. § 523 Without Misrepresentation, Morgan Green

Fordham Law Review

Imagine buying a game from a seller and promising to repay him at a later date. However, instead of repayment, you decide to give the game to your friend, who in turn allows you to use it. Then your friend declares bankruptcy to discharge the price of the game from his debts, thus allowing you both to use it without paying. This repayment runaround is the issue that the First and Fifth Circuits were asked to decide in two recent cases. Specifically, the question was whether a debt incurred by “actual fraud” may be discharged by the recipient of the …

Up The Chute, Down The Ladder: Shifting Priorities Through Structured Dismissals In Bankruptcy, Bethany K. Smith

Fordham Law Review

In a structured dismissal of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, a bankruptcy court approves case dismissal alongside a stakeholder agreement as to the manner in which the estate is to be dealt with once the case has been dismissed. Such orders are controversial in that they are not explicitly authorized through the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (“the Code”) and are especially controversial where the accompanying agreement seeks to distribute estate property in contravention of the priority scheme laid out in § 507 of the Code. Where the agreement violates this so-called waterfall payment method, bankruptcy courts are faced with difficult questions: …

Courts And Sovereigns In The Pari Passu Goldmines, Anna Gelpern

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

U.S. federal court rulings against Argentina since 2012 have turned the pari passu clause in sovereign bond contracts into the most promising debt collection tool against immune governments since the days of gunboat diplomacy. The large literature on pari passu (“equal step” in Latin) assumes that the clause had not been used for enforcement before the late 1990s, and that it was first construed by a Belgian court in a case against Peru in the year 2000. The Belgian decision was criticized for wrongly concluding that pari passu promised ratable payment to all holders of Peru’s external debt. A decade …

"No Harm, Still Foul": Unharmed Creditors And Avoidance Of A Debtor's Pre-Petition Transfer Of Exemptible Property, Alyssa Pompei

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note sides with the “no harm, no foul” approach in this debate, arguing that bankruptcy courts should not avoid prepetition transfers of otherwise exempt property under § 548 simply because an exemption was not actually taken and the transfer was instead the alternative path used to shield the property from collection. Part I of this Note explains the constructive fraud and exemption provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, including state opt-out provisions which are particularly applicable to this issue. Part I also discusses the legislative history of federal bankruptcy law with particular focus on the creation of the Bankruptcy …

Finding Common Ground: Resolving Assumption And Assignment Of Intellectual Property Licenses In Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Through Adoption Of The Actual Test, Courtney Marie Davis

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Theory Of Municipal Custom And Practice, Karen Blum

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Eleventh Amendment Federalism And State Sovereign Immunity Cases: Direct Effect On Section 1983?, Stephen H. Steinglass

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ethics For Examiners, Daniel J. Bussel

Fordham Law Review

The inquisitorial bankruptcy examiner is sui generis in our system. He faces unique ethical quandaries and considerations, which require a code of ethics tailored to his role if he is to achieve fully the promise of improving Chapter 11 through the introduction of inquisitorial investigative methods. This Article attempts to point the way toward guidelines that will regulate the conduct of examiners to mitigate real, potential, and perceived abuses.

Micro, Small And Medium Enterprise (Msme) Insolvency In Canada, Janis P. Sarra

All Faculty Publications

Insolvency law is broadly recognized as an essential tool in well-functioning economies. A balance of mechanisms that allow for timely and effective liquidation, but also for a “fresh start” for individual entrepreneurs and the rehabilitation of viable businesses, tends to enhance creditor recoveries and lender confidence. This study examines the treatment of micro, small and medium enterprises (“MSME”) under the Canada Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It undertakes a qualitative examination of 200 business insolvencies in 2015, in order to try to understand the reasons for insolvency, types of debt, and outcomes of proceedings. The study reports on the results of …

Making Assignments For The Benefit Of Creditors As Easy As A-B-C, Carly Landon

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Treatment Of Employees Pension And Wage Claims In Insolvency And Under Guarantee Schemes In Oecd Countries: Comparative Law Lessons For Detroit And The United States, Paul M. Secunda

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Detroit Bankruptcy, Pre-Eligibility, Melissa B. Jacoby

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Response To Professor Paul Secunda's Comparatice Analysis Of The Treatment Of Employment Claims In Insolvency Proceedings And Guarantee Schemes In Oecd Countries, Israel Goldowitz

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Zombieland/The Detroit Bankruptcy: Why Debts Associated With Pensions, Benefits, And Municipal Securities Never Die. . . And How They Are Killing Cities Like Detroit, Christine Sgarlata Chung

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Resolving The Public Pension "Crisis", Jack M. Beermann

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Modifying Or Terminating Pension Plans Through Chapter 9 Bankruptcies With A Focus On California, Joanne Lau

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Bringing Continuity To Cryptocurrency: Commercial Law As A Guide To The Asset Categorization Of Bitcoin, Evan Hewitt

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will undertake to analyze bitcoin under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)—two important sources of commercial law—to see whether any existing asset categories adequately protect bitcoin’s commercial viability. This Note will demonstrate that although commercial law dictates that bitcoin should—nay must—be regulated as a currency in order to sustain its existence, the very definition of currency seems to preclude that from happening. Therefore, this Note will recommend that we experiment with a new type of asset that receives currency-like treatment, specifically designed for cryptocurrencies, under which bitcoin can be categorized in order to …

From Wreckage Comes Reason: How Detroit’S Chapter 9 Filing Helps Develop A Practicable And Principled “Good Faith” Standard, Scott A. Krystiniak

William & Mary Business Law Review

The city of Detroit is beginning to rise from the ashes following decades of fiscal ineptitude, social failure, and corruption. Bolstered by protections under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code, Detroit has eliminated billions of dollars in debt and established a feasible plan for municipal reorganization. Now, Detroit is even considered an American “comeback story.” However, Detroit’s revitalization began on a tenuous foundation. The city’s creditors objected vigorously to the bankruptcy petition by claiming that Detroit had not filed its bankruptcy petition in good faith under § 921(c). Despite the relatively scarce and imprecise case law and jurisprudence surrounding § …

With Malice Toward One? – Defining Nondischargeability Of Debts For Willful And Malicious Injury Under Section 523(A)(6) Of The Bankrupcy Code, Theresa J. Pulley Radwan

William & Mary Business Law Review

The federal bankruptcy system strikes a balance between the rights of debtors seeking a fresh start and the rights of creditors seeking repayment for debt. While many areas of the Bankruptcy Code provide examples of this balancing act, perhaps no area of the Code embodies this balance better than discharge of debt. Discharge of debt provides the fresh start for debtors on which the bankruptcy system rests, but the Code also protects the interests of creditors who would otherwise have their claims against the debtor discharged.

Section 523(a)(6) excepts from discharge any debt “for willful and malicious injury by the …

A "Sunbeam" Of Hope: The Seventh Circuit's Solution Overcoming Disparaging Treatment To Trademark Licenses Under The Bankruptcy Code, Jarrod N. Cone

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Vindicating Bankruptcy Rights, Kara J. Bruce

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Bans On Debtors' Prisons And Criminal Justice Debt, Christopher D. Hampson

UF Law Faculty Publications

Since the 1990s, and increasingly in the wake of the Great Recession, many municipalities, forced to operate under tight budgetary constraints, have turned to the criminal justice system as an untapped revenue stream. Raising the specter of the "debtors' prisons" once prevalent in the United States, Imprisonment for failure to pay debts owed to the state has provoked growing concern over the year.

This practice both aggravates known racial and socioeconomic inequalities in the criminal justice system and raises additional concerns. First, assessing and collecting such debt may not be justifiable on penal grounds. Second, imprisonment for criminal justice debts …

Disciplining Corporate Boards And Debtholders Through Targeted Proxy Access, Michelle M. Harner

Faculty Scholarship

Corporate directors committed to a failed business strategy or unduly influenced by the company’s debtholders need a dissenting voice—they need shareholder nominees on the board. This article examines the bias, conflicts, and external factors that impact board decisions, particularly when a company faces financial distress. It challenges the conventional wisdom that debt disciplines management, and it suggests that, in certain circumstances, the company would benefit from having the shareholders’ perspective more actively represented on the board. To that end, the article proposes a bylaw that would give shareholders the ability to nominate directors upon the occurrence of predefined events. Such …

Wellness International Network V. Sharif: Minimizing The Jurisdictional Impact Of Stern Through Consent Of Bankruptcy Litigants, Ishaq Kundawala

Articles

Without conducting an official poll, it can safely be said that a majority of lawyers, judges, and scholars agree the nature and scope of bankruptcy jurisdiction is quite confusing and at times uncertain. There has always been—and perhaps always will be—a tug-of-war between the legislative and judicial branches of government over the proper scope of bankruptcy jurisdiction, with one side expanding the reach of bankruptcy jurisdiction legislatively and the other side limiting that reach judicially. This poses a classic separation of powers struggle between the two branches, which has certainly played out in recent bankruptcy jurisprudence.

When Congress created the …

Schwab Industries: Competing And Shifting Interests In Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Trey Buckley, Hannah Kay Hurt, Hunter Threet

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

No abstract provided.

In Re Skymall: The Crash Of Skymall And The Take Off Of 363(B) Sales, Spencer Cook, Garett Franklyn

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

No abstract provided.