Business Law Insolvency Law Committee

The following is a profile of the Honorable Robert N. Kwan, the thirteenth in a series of profiles of Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy and Magistrate Judges. Read more

In Moon v. Rushmore Loan Mgmt. Servs., LLC (In re Moon), 2021 Bankr. LEXIS 299 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2021) (unpublished) (“Moon”), the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit (“BAP”) ruled that a creditor was not liable for civil contempt of a chapter 13 plan confirmation order that was entered without prior notice to the creditor. Read more

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 LEXIS 27 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2021) (unpublished), the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit (“BAP”) ruled that attorney’s fees and costs are recoverable under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k)(1)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