Business Law Insolvency Law Committee

In a recent decision, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the Court) confirmed a chapter 11 plan which included consensual third-party releases which were procured by using opt-out rather than opt-in requirements.  Read more

In a published opinion, The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Court) held that the logical relationship test which applies to the equitable doctrine of recoupment demands consideration of the equities, including the purpose of the Bankruptcy Code, in each individual case.  Read more

The following is a case summary written by Chase A. Stone regarding the recent Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal’s recent opinion in In re Serta Simmons Bedding, L.L.C., 125 F.4th 555 (5th Cir. 2024), (as revised Jan. 21, 2025 and Feb. 14, 2025), including the discussion of the bankruptcy court’s earlier decision (which was directly appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals). Read more

The following is a case summary written by Kathleen A. Cashman-Kramer regarding the recent decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Munding vs. Masingale, 108 F.4th 1195 (9th Cir. 2024). Read more

In a recent published opinion, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an individual who receives a collection letter in violation of 15 U.S.C. 1692c(a)(2) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA” or “the Act ) has Article III standing. The plaintiff received a letter directly from a debt collector when the collector knew he was represented by counsel, which was a violation of the Act.  Six v. IQ Data International, Inc., ___ F. 4th ____, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 4172 (9th Cir. February 24, 2025).  To view the opinion, click here: Read more

The following is an update written by Leonard Gumport on a recent case of interest. Summary In 2019, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Bankruptcy Court”) granted a preliminary injunction (the “Preliminary Injunction”) that temporarily stayed creditors of chapter 11 debtors Purdue Pharma L.P. (“Purdue”) and its affiliates (collectively, “Debtors”) from pursuing disputed claims against certain Sackler family members (the “Sacklers”). In 2020, in Dunaway v. Purdue Pharm. L.P. (In re Purdue Pharm.… Read more

According to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (the Circuit Court) there is a distinction between whether ERISA applies to and governs a retirement plan and whether the plan complied with ERISA’s requirements to receive tax benefits.  Therefore, even if the debtors’ defined benefit retirement plans were not “qualified” under ERISA because of violations in their use, they still were excluded from his bankruptcy estate by 11 U.S.C. § 541(c)(2).  McDonnell v. Gilbert (In re Gilbert), ___ F4th ___, 2024 WL 4645582 (3rd Cir. November 1, 2024).  To view the opinion, click here: Read more

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Circuit Court) recently affirmed the district court in concluding that denying chapter 7 debtors a discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(B) when they elected to apply tax year 2019 tax refunds to potential tax year 2020 taxes was improper because the bankruptcy court’s factual finding that they did so with actual intent to hinder creditors was clearly erroneous.  Read more

The following is a case summary written by Gary B. Rudolph, a director at Fennemore LLP’s San Diego office, analyzing In re Village Oaks Senior Care LLC, 664 B.R. 170 (Bankr. ED CA 2024) a recent decision of interest. Read more

The following is a case summary written by Robert Harris and Kathleen A. Cashman-Kramer regarding the recent California Court of Appeal decision in Bijan Boutiques, LLC v. Isong, 104 Cal.App.5th 132 (Court of Appeal, Fourth District, August 13, 2024), holding that while a property division by a marital settlement agreement between divorcing spouses may be challenged as a fraudulent or voidable transfer, a property division entered by contested court order in a marital dissolution may not be.  Read more