Business Law Insolvency Law Committee

In Rushmore Loan Mgmt. Servs., LLC v. Moon (In re Moon), 2021 Bankr. LEXIS 27 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2021) (unpublished), the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit (“BAP”) ruled that attorney’s fees and costs are recoverable under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k)(1) even if the debtor is not personally liable for their payment and has not signed a fee agreement. Read more

In Windstream Holdings, Inc. v. Charter Communications, Inc. (In re Windstream Holdings, Inc.), 627 B.R. 32 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2021) (“Windstream III”), the bankruptcy court awarded $19.1 million in civil contempt sanctions against Charter Communications, Inc. (“Charter Communications”) and Charter Communications Operating, LLC (“Operating”) (collectively, “Charter”) for violating the automatic stay in the chapter 11 cases of debtors Windstream Holdings, Inc. (“Windstream Holdings”) and 204 affiliates (collectively, the “Windstream Debtors” or “Windstream”). Read more

In shareholder suits against directors for breach of fiduciary duty, the shareholder must rebut the business judgment rule and demonstrate the breach involved intentional misconduct, fraud, or a knowing violation of law. Read more

Bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in denying an individual chapter 11 debtor's motion to voluntarily convert to chapter 7. Read more

An individual was eligible to be a debtor in a SBRA Subchapter V chapter 11 case despite the fact that he was a wage earning employee of a company that was unrelated to the debtor's failed corporate business on the petition date. Read more

An increase in equity in a chapter 13 debtor's home that occurred between the petition date and the post-confirmation conversion to chapter 7 inured to the debtor's benefit. Read more

In a preference action against an insurance company financier, the financier's lien on unearned premiums was perfected under Louisiana law and was sufficient to defeat a preference if the financier was fully perfected on the date of each transfer, even if not fully secured on the petition date. Read more

Court upheld several different release and exculpation clauses in confirming a chapter 11 plan over the objection of the U.S. Trustee. Read more

In a recent unpublished memorandum opinion, the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit (BAP) ruled that an interest of a debtor in a limited liability company which held title to the residence in which the debtor resided (the “Residence”) was not sufficient to support a homestead exemption in the Residence despite a state court ruling that the LLC was the reverse alter ego of the debtor. Read more

In People's Bail Bonds v. Dobos (In re Dobos), 830 F. App’x 928 (9th Cir. 2020) (unpublished), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s affirmance of a bankruptcy court’s order dismissing a plaintiffs’ adversary complaint. Read more