Bankruptcy Law Commons^™

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.

The Permissibility Of Bringing An Action Against Johns-Manville’S Insurers Despite Injunctive Orders, Amanda Hoffman

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

It is well known that bankruptcy courts have jurisdiction over all of the property of the debtor’s estate, no matter where the estate is located. Bankruptcy courts have the power to preserve that jurisdiction by enjoining proceedings that would remove property from the bankrupt estate. Title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) has broadly defined property of the estate as “all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case.” Section 541(a)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code has been defined broadly to include “all kinds of property, including tangible or …

Protecting Patients Or Protecting Government Agencies: Bankruptcy Involvement In Medicare/Medicaid Termination, Anthony J. Ienna

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a struggling business can preserve essential property needed to remain operational. However, when a healthcare institution is in financial disarray and becomes noncompliant with federal regulatory standards, courts may block rehabilitation through bankruptcy. Healthcare institutions such as nursing homes, which are in the process curing deficiencies, must stay in compliance with the federal regulations in order to continue to receive Medicare and Medicaid funds. Nursing homes must make the necessary changes before funds are terminated or they will be forced to abruptly close. Courts often scrutinize nursing homes’ ability to care for their patients because …

When A Priority Is Not A Priority: Structured Dismissals And The Priority Rules, Lindsay Lersner

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

The culmination of a chapter 11 case is typically a plan that provides for payment to creditors in accordance with the priority rules of the title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”). In In re Jevic Holding Corp., the Third Circuit held that in certain rare circumstances, bankruptcy courts have the discretion to approve structured dismissals which do not comply with section 507 and section 1129 - the priority rules - of the Bankruptcy Code. This holding highlights several issues with which courts have been grappling. The initial issue is whether structured dismissals themselves are …

Regulating The Moneychangers, Jerry W. Markham

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Modernization Of European Insolvency Law: An Ongoing Process, Paolo Manganelli

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

The Unconfirmable Modified Chapter 13 Plan - The Disposable Income Test Of Section 1325(B) And Plan Modifications, Laura B. Bartell

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Whether Section 327 Professional Persons’ Legal Fees Are The Cost Of Doing Business In A Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Christopher Atlee F. Arcitio

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

When a debtor attempts to reorganize under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), the debtor typically remains “in possession” and retains all the rights of the trustee, including the right to administer the bankruptcy estate “as a fiduciary for the estate’s creditors” in a chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

Importantly, a debtor-in-possession and a trustee are empowered to employ third parties to carry out their duties. Section 327 of the Bankruptcy Code deems these individuals “professional persons.” A professional person may be compensated upon submission of a fee application to the court. The …

Ashton, Bekins, And Necessity: Why Chapter 9 Is Constitutional, But Not The Only Way For Municipalities To Adjust Their Debts, Aaron Michael Dmiszewicki

University of Miami Business Law Review

The 1930s saw the nation in crisis, steeped in the worst of the Great Depression. In 1936, over 2,000 municipalities, counties, and other governmental units, in 41 of the 48 states, were known to be in default. In response to this crisis, Congress amended the Bankruptcy Act in 1934 and passed the first municipal bankruptcy statute. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court struck it down. Undeterred, Congress passed another municipal bankruptcy statute in 1937, which was almost identical to the previously invalidated law. In 1938, the Supreme Court, now stocked with Roosevelt-appointed New Deal sympathizers, upheld the law.

However, the latter …

Treating The New European Disease Of Consumer Debt In A Post-Communist State: The Groundbreaking New Russian Personal Insolvency Law, 41 Brook. J. Int'l L. 655 (2016), Jason J. Kilborn

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the tumultuous transition from restrictive Communism to the debt-fueled consumer economy of modern Russia. In particular, it surveys Russia’s legal response to severe debt distress, situating it in the context of nearly one thousand years of historical development. Effective 1 October 2015, Russia finally joined most of its European neighbors in adopting a personal bankruptcy law, with characteristics that reflect both evolving international best practices and a series of lessons not learned. This article offers the first detailed exposition in English of the two steps forward represented by this new law, as well as an evaluation of …

Sovereign Debt Restructuring: A Model-Law Approach, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

The existing contractual framework for sovereign debt restructuring is sorely inadequate. Whether or not their fault, nations sometimes take on debt burdens that become unsustainable. Until resolved, the resulting sovereign debt problem hurts not only those nations (such as Greece) but also their citizens, their creditors, and—by posing serious systemic risks to the international financial system—the wider economic community. The existing contractual framework functions poorly to resolve the problem because it often leaves little alternative between a sovereign debt bailout, which is costly and creates moral hazard, and a default, which raises the specter of systemic financial contagion.

Most observers …