Business Law Insolvency Law Committee

Community property presumption overrides the form of title presumption in a dispute between spouses and the bankruptcy trustee in husband's Chapter 7 case. Read more

Trustee prevailed on constructive fraudulent transfer claim to avoid and recover a "gift of equity" from debtor to his adult children as part of a prepetition sale of real property. Read more

The Court of Appeals of Nevada recently issued a detailed opinion, drawing on nationwide authority, interpreting section 9-609 of the Uniform Commercial Code, which authorizes a secured creditor to enter private property to recover possession of collateral so long as the repossession proceeds “without breach of the peace” (a term not defined in the UCC). The case is Droge v. AAAA Two Star Towing, 2020 WL3415636 (June 18, 2020). Read more

The following is a case summary written by Kathleen A. Cashman-Kramer analyzing Elliott vs. Pacific Western Bank, 969 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2020). Read more

Penalty Portion of Tax Lien Avoided for Benefit of Unsecured Creditors and not Junior Lienholders Read more

Statute of limitations is tolled by discharge injunction under California law. Read more

In Sunshine Grp., LLC v. City of Dana Point (In re Sunshine Grp., LLC), 2020 Bankr. LEXIS 1000 (9th Cir. BAP Apr. 10, 2020), the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit held the bankruptcy court did not err in dismissing a chapter 11 case as a bad faith filing designed to thwart a pending receivership involving the debtor’s sole asset, a motel in Dana Point with no ongoing business and nuisance conditions. Read more

This note discusses Merriman v. Fattorini (In re Merriman), 616 B.R. 381 (BAP 9th Cir. July 13, 2020) and the effect of the Supreme Court decision in Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan, Puerto Rico v. Acevedo Feliciano, 140 S. Ct. 696 (2020) (per curiam) on the bankruptcy court's power to annul the automatic stay. Read more

Debtors Beware: Creditor’s Attorneys’ Fees for Prosecuting Section 523 Action May Also Be Non-Dischargeable, Regardless of the Amount Read more

Ruling in a patent case from the Northern District of California, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion to seal documents and a subsequent motion for reconsideration based on movant's failure to narrowly tailor the request to seal and a lack of a compelling reason for the court to do so. Read more