Bankruptcy Law Commons^™

‘Don’T File!’: Rehabilitating Unauthorized Practice Of Law-Based Policies In The Credit Counseling Industry, Lea Krivinskas Shepard

Lea Krivinskas Shepard

No abstract provided.

Liquid Assets: A Coasian Economic Analysis Of Oregon's Allocation Of Conserved Water Program, Richard A. Grisel

Richard A Grisel

Diversions for residential, agricultural, recreational, commercial, industrial, and other beneficial uses have had the effect of removing water from rivers and tributaries throughout the western U.S. Another, more recent, competing use is ecological, demonstrated by the legal recognition of instream beneficial uses in some jurisdictions. As awareness of the progressively acute need for reallocation has increased in the arid West, so has interest in water markets and other mechanisms to facilitate transfers across beneficial uses. However, governments and water users face a legacy prior appropriation system that prohibits instream beneficial uses, encourages maximal diversion, stifles water right fungibility, and generally …

A Skeptic’S Case For Sovereign Bankruptcy, Anna Gelpern

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay describes fundamental flaws in the sovereign debt restructuring regime, but questions the prevailing arguments for sovereign bankruptcy. The author concludes that efficient debt outcomes may well come about without bankruptcy, but that a statutory regime is necessary to achieve sovereign autonomy and political legitimacy.

Negative Externalities And Subprime Auto Financing: Time To Let The Hanging Paragraph Go(2), Chunlin Leonhard

Chunlin Leonhard

Economists generally agree that when private transactions generate negative externalities (i.e. unintended harmful byproduct), government intervention is potentially necessary. Negative externalities are considered socially inefficient because they destroy market supply and demand equilibrium. The existence of negative externalities is therefore one of those rare occasions when government intervention in private transactions is justified. It follows that when the government does choose to intervene, its goal should be to remedy, not to encourage, negative externalities. This article identifies one bankruptcy rule, commonly known as the Hanging Paragraph in the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(9), that violates the basic principle of …

Bankruptcy Voting And The Designation Power, Christopher W. Frost

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code is the only form of bankruptcy that requires winning the consent of the creditor body. Creditors are given the right to vote based on an underlying assumption that they will cast their votes to maximize recovery on their claims. When creditors collectively vote to further these distributional goals, then the estate in turn should realize the maximum value for its assets. "Value maximization" is one of the fundamental goals of chapter 11, and voting in bankruptcy is an important way of achieving that goal.

The problem with these assumptions is that creditors sometimes vote …

When Opting Out Is The Only Option: Protecting Small Business Debtors In Bankruptcy, Ryan Malone

William & Mary Business Law Review

This Note implores states that have not already done so to opt out of the provisions of the Federal Bankruptcy Code that place explicit limits on the amount a debtor is allowed to exempt from liquidation. By doing so, states will be able to provide debtors who operate their own small business a greater degree of protection from creditors, as those states are entitled to establish their own limit on the value of the tools of a debtor’s trade the debtor may shield in bankruptcy. This Note contends that Congress has evinced an intent within the last decade to restrict …

Restructuring The Bankruptcy System: A Strategic Response To Stern V. Marshall, Brook E. Gotberg

Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court's ruling in Stern v. Marshall has signaled a need to alter the bankruptcy courts' jurisdictional structure. In Stern, the Supreme Court ruled that bankruptcy judges, who lack the life tenure and salary protections provided by Article III, cannot issue final rulings in bankruptcy proceedings previously believed to be within their core jurisdiction. In response to the constitutional challenge raised by Stern, and in recognition that bankruptcy court's jurisdictional limits represent a long-standing problem, many argue for a long-term solution: the restructuring of the system to create specialized Article III bankruptcy courts. This article evaluates this proposal in …

Circuit City's Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Jeff Smith, Peyton Hairston

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

Circuit City Stores, Inc. sold consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software, and appliances in the growing consumer electronics market.[1] Circuit City was founded by Samuel S. Wurtzel in 1949 under the name Wards Company. The store named “Wards” was an acronym of Wurtzel’s family name’s: “W” for Wurtzel, “A” for his son Alan, “R” for his wife Ruth, “D” for his son David, and “S” for his own name.[2] Circuit City was the first electronics superstore and was the nation’s second largest retailer of consumer electronics as recently as 2004.[3] Circuit City began the superstore concept for …

In Re Thq Inc. "Game Over", Henry Ned Hildebrand, Carlo Julio Salas, Taylor K. Wirth

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

(From Introduction)

Videogames have come a long way since PONG for Atari was introduced in 1972. The industry has advanced from simplistic 8-bit geometric shapes descending from players’ screens (Tetris) and a side-scrolling, overall-clad plumber saving a princess in a faraway land (Super Mario Bros.). Today, the global videogame industry is a $67 billion enterprise, consisting of hardware (gaming consoles like Nintendo and Playstation), software (the actual videogames themselves), and secondary markets (online games, mobile phones, and other devices). The major players in this enterprise are few—the “AAA” game developers. In the videogame industry, …

A Blockbuster Failure: How An Outdated Business Model Destroyed A Giant, Todd Davis, John Higgins

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

The rise of the Internet in the 1990s and 2000s rapidly created new markets. Companies like Apple seized on the ability to distribute music online for a lower price than independent record stores, or even large-scale ones like Tower Records could afford, driving record stores to near-extinction.[1] A similar fate has fallen upon the video rental stores. Giants Movie Gallery and Blockbuster, driven by physical rental stores, began struggling to compete with streaming and mailing platforms. Both were driven into bankruptcy because they failed to adapt quickly enough. A series of poor choices by Blockbuster, including passing on the …

Force Out: A Dodgers Bankruptcy, Richard Marrero, Cj Fayton

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

The premise of a chapter 11 bankruptcy is that the business’ going concern value exceeds its liquidation value. It provides the debtor with an opportunity to restructure their debt so that they can pay back their creditors and stay in business.

The debtor’s filing of the bankruptcy petition creates an “automatic stay.”[1] The automatic stay is an injunction that prevents creditors from pursuing legal actions against the debtor and its assets. The automatic stay, however, protects not only the debtor but the creditors as well. In the absence of the automatic stay, creditors would “race to the courthouse” to …

Hostess Brands, Inc. Bankruptcy, Kathryn K. Ganier, Frederick L. Conrad Iii, Wendy G. Patrick

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

In 1930, the Hostess Corporation[1] began as the Interstate Baking Corporation (IBC). In Kansas City Missouri, flour, wheat, and grain marched from machines as workers placed sliced white squares into Wonder Bread’s iconic yellow, red, and blue packaging.[2]

Hostess grew from its small town beginnings into a large corporation thanks in large part to its innovation in its product lines as well as growth through the acquisition of its competitors. By the end of 2012, “Hostess [was] one of the largest wholesale bakers and distributors of bread and snack cakes in the United States [and] operate[d] 36 bakeries, …

In Re Dewey Ranch Hockey, Llc: The Bankruptcy Of The Phoenix Coyotes, Chris Rowe, Jeff Upshaw

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

While only a small percentage of Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings garner the attention of the American public, a bankruptcy petition involving a “big four” professional sports franchise (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) is big news to the American sports world. Perhaps the reason is that few, if any, commercial entities make such a passionate connection with its customers as professional sports teams.

In comparison to the other members of the “big four”, the NHL simply does not have the same level of financial success. Almost half of the 30 NHL franchises lost money in the 2011-2012 season.^[1] Of the nine …

Get Ready For The Amendments To Revised Article 9, Ingrid Hillinger, Edwin Smith

Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger

Revised Article 9, effective in 2001, has created problem spots. The 2012 Amendments, effective in July 2013, attempt to solve them. Ed Smith of Bingham McCutchen and I lectured on the amendments.

Municipalities In Peril: The Abi Guide To Chapter 9, Second Edition Written By: H. Slayton Dabney Jr., Patrick Darby, Daniel G. Egan, Marc A. Levinson, George B. South Iii And Emily J. Tidmore (Abi, 2012), Juliet Moringiello

Juliet M Moringiello

No abstract provided.

Falência De Empresas Coligadas, Jorge Lobo

Rafaela Loureiro Pinheiro Furlan

No abstract provided.

Hoa Fees: A Bapcpa Death-Trap, Brandt H. Stitzer

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dodd-Frank's Title Ii Authority: A Disorderly Liquidation Of Experience, Logic, And Due Process, Chadwick Welch

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Recuperação Judicial E Trava Bancária, Bruno Meyerhof Salama

Bruno Meyerhof Salama

The Economics And Regulation Of Network Branded Prepaid Cards, Todd J. Zywicki

Todd J. Zywicki

General-purpose reloadable prepaid cards have been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the consumer payments marketplace in recent years. Their importance has accelerated as a consequence of new regulations enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. This increased use of prepaid cards has also increased angst among regulators, especially regarding the number and size of fees on prepaid cards. State and federal regulators as well as Congress are interested in imposing new regulations on prepaid cards. These calls for regulation, however, have proceeded in a largely fact-free environment. This paper describes the current economic and regulatory landscape for …