Business Law Insolvency Law Committee

The following is a case summary written by Chase A. Stone regarding the recent California Supreme Court’s recent decision in JJD-HOV Elk Grove, LLC v. Jo-Ann Stores, LLC,  17 Cal.5th 256, 560 P.3d 297 (2024).  Read more

The following is a profile of the Honorable Theodor Albert – the latest in a series of profiles of Ninth Circuit bankruptcy judges.  Judge Albert and members of the Insolvency Law Committee and Business Law Section Executive Committee met in Judge Albert’s chambers and discussed his personal and professional background, observations from the bench, and other issues of interest. Read more

The following is a case update written by Hale Andrew Antico, Chief Counsel of Antico Law Firm, analyzing In re Wike, 660 B.R. 683 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2024) (“Wike”). Read more

The following is a case summary written by Gary M. Kaplan, a partner at Farella Braun + Martel LLP in San Francisco, analyzing Saldana v. Bronitsky (In re Saldana), 122 F.4th 333 (9th Cir. Nov. 22, 2024), a recent decision of interest. Read more

October 21, 2024 Dear constituency list members of the Insolvency Law Committee, the following is a case update written by Patrick Costello, analyzing In re Point 360, 2024 WL 2862577 (9th Cir. June 6, 2024), a recent case of interest: SUMMARY In In re Point, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the ruling of the District Court holding that a venture loan secured debt was not subject to subordination pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 510(b) simply because the loan terms included “equity… Read more

October 18, 2024 Dear constituency list members of the Insolvency Law Committee, the following is a case update written by Hale Andrew Antico, Chief Counsel of Antico Law Firm, analyzing In re O'Gorman, No. 23-60005, 2024 WL 4113544 (9th Cir. Sept. 9, 2024), a recent case of interest: SUMMARY In In re O’Gorman, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a bankruptcy court decision granting summary judgment to the trustee who sought to avoid a fraudulent transfer by… Read more

September 30, 2024 Dear constituency list members of the Insolvency Law Committee, the following is a case update by Summer Shaw analyzing In re Buettner, 654 B.R. 927 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. 2023), a recent case of interest: SUMMARY In In re Buettner, Chapter 13 debtors were compelled to file suit to enforce California Civil Code § 2941, which requires a lender to reconvey a deed of trust within 30 days of payoff. The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of… Read more

September 19, 2024 Dear constituency list members of the Insolvency Law Committee, the following is a case update written by Hale Andrew Antico, Chief Counsel of Antico Law Firm, analyzing In re Wike, 660 B.R. 683 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2024) (“Wike”), a recent case of interest: SUMMARY In Wike, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit (“BAP”) ruled that the disciplinary costs assessed against an attorney who filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection were discharged under 11 U.S.C. §… Read more

On July 23, 2024, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) and representatives Emilia Sykes (D-OH) and Lance Gooden (R-TX) introduced the Ending Corporate Bankruptcy Abuse Act (“ECBA”).  The purpose of the ECBA is an attempt to end the so-called “Texas Two-Step” that has been pervasive in recent years.  One such use of this process can be found in the Johnson & Johnson bankruptcy cases dealing with talc-related injury claims.  For those unfamiliar with it, the "Texas Two-Step"… Read more

Finding that in a corporate bankruptcy case a person or entity can be held in civil contempt for an automatic stay violation when “there is no fair ground of doubt” that its conduct violated the stay, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that false and misleading advertising focused against the debtor by a competitor was not an exercise of control over estate property and therefore not a stay violation.  In re Windstream Holdings, Inc., 2024 WL 3195997 (2d Cir. June 24, 2024). Read more