Business Law Insolvency Law Committee

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

In a case of first impression for the circuit, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Ninth Circuit) ruled that the two-year limitations period to sue to recover an erroneous refund starts on the date the refund check is cashed, not when it is received, reversing the district court.  United States of America v Page, ___ F. 4th ___, 2024 WL 3169963 (9th Cir. June 26, 2024).  Read more

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Circuit Court) recently ruled that a debtor who suffered two different work-related injuries after he filed a chapter 13 case had standing to assert a claim against his employer based on the injury which occurred after he had completed payments under his plan, but was barred by the doctrine of judicial estoppel from asserting a claim based on the injury which happened before he completed his plan payments.  Hughes v. Wisconsin Central, Ltd., ___ F. 4th ___, 2024 WL 3154627 (8th Cir. June 25, 2024). Read more

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Circuit Court) recently ruled that a probation before judgment qualifies as a conviction and that a sentence includes probation granted before judgment, such that restitution debt based on the probation is excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a)(3).  Feyijinmi v. Central Collection Unit, ___ F. 4th ___, 2024 WL 3209930 (4th Cir. June 28, 2024).  Read more

A Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of California (the Court) recently denied the United States Trustee’s (“UST”) motion to dismiss a chapter 7 case for cause under 11 U.S. C. § 707(a) because the debtor owned interests in LLCs which were engaged in the cannabis business.  In re Christopher Michael Callaway, 2024 WL 3191673 (Bankr. N.D. CA. June 26, 2024).  Read more

the following is a “behind the ruling” view of a recent opinion published by the United States Supreme Court, Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, L.P., 603 U.S. __, 2024 U.S. LEXIS 2848 (U.S., June 27, 2024) (Purdue 4), a case in which the ILC filed an amicus brief on September 27, 2023.  Full analyses of the Court’s majority and dissent opinions will be sent in separate eBulletins. Read more

The following is one of multiple ebulletins about Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, L.P., 603 U.S. __, 2024 U.S. LEXIS 2848 (U.S., June 27, 2024) (Purdue 4), a case in which the ILC filed an amicus brief on September 27, 2023. This ebulletin by Leonard Gumport, counsel on the ILC’s amicus brief, discusses the majority opinion in Purdue 4.         Read more

The following is one of multiple ebulletins about Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, L.P., 603 U.S. __, 2024 U.S. LEXIS 2848 (U.S., June 27, 2024) (Purdue 4), a case in which the ILC filed an amicus brief on September 27, 2023. This ebulletin by Meredith Jury, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge (Ret.) and Maggie Schroedter of Robberson Schroedter LLP discusses the dissent opinion in Purdue 4.   Read more

The following is a case update written by Hale Andrew Antico, Chief Counsel of Antico Law Firm, analyzing In re Rey, a recent case of interest. Read more

The following is a case update written by Hale Andrew Antico, Chief Counsel of Antico Law Firm, analyzing In re Sabadash, No. 2:23-BK-15574-NB, 2024 WL 694154, at *1 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. Feb. 20, 2024), adhered to in part on reconsideration sub nom. In re: Aleksandr Vitalievich Sabadash, Debtor., No. 2:23-BK-15574-NB, 2024 WL 2160823 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. May 14, 2024), a recent case of interest: Read more