Business Law Insolvency Law Committee

In Berkovich v. California Franchise Tax Board (In re Berkovich), 15 F.4th 997 (9th Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Court”) held that when a debtor’s federal tax liability is adjusted and the debtor fails to report the adjustment to the California Franchise Tax Board, the additional tax owed to the state is nondischargeable. Read more

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held that fraudulent transfer and turnover claims are “core” non-arbitrable claims and denied a motion to compel arbitration as to those claims. Read more

In re Heard, 2021 WL 3540412, (Bankr. D. Or. 2021) is a case in which a loan servicer mistakenly filed on inaccurate change notice in a Chapter 13 case Read more

Court affirmed award of attorneys' fees to third party beneficiaries of a contract with a prevailing party clause (Fee Applicants) after dismissal of a cross-complaint against them despite the fact that Fee Applicants were not parties to the contract and the award was based on tort, not contract claims. Read more

In TransUnion LLC v Ramirez, the United States Supreme Court held that a plaintiff must suffer a concrete injury to have Article III standing to pursue damages for a statutory violation in federal court. Read more

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) recently affirmed a bankruptcy court decision which held that a third party had no rights to assert a “cure claim” under the provisions of Bankruptcy Code section 365(b)(1) Read more

To assert a nondischargeability claim against the non-filing spouse of a bankruptcy debtor, a plaintiff must affirmatively obtain a nondishcargeability determination by commencing an adversary proceeding against that person within 60 days of the meeting of creditors. Read more

On September 17, 2021, in In re Purdue Pharma L.P., 2021 Bankr. LEXIS 2555 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2021) (“Purdue 1”), United States Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain confirmed the twelfth amended joint reorganization plan (“Plan”) of debtors Purdue Pharma, L.P. Read more

Court could entertain a class action for violation of the discharge injunction that included putative class members who received their chapter 7 discharges from other bankruptcy courts in other districts. Read more

Court granted motion by the media to unseal redacted filings pertaining to the investigation of potential claims against the Sackler family or their investment vehicles, ruling that the redacted material was not "commercial information" which was excepted from public disclosure under Bankruptcy Code section 107(a). Read more