Business Law Insolvency Law Committee

The following article is a profile of the Honorable Ernest M. Robles – the third in a series of profiles of Ninth Circuit bankruptcy judges. Judge Robles and members of the Insolvency Law Committee met in his chambers and discussed his personal and professional background, observations from the bench, and issues of interest. The Judge’s Hometown and Education Judge Robles was born in Mexico and was raised in San Francisco. As Judge Robles remarked, “in those days, San Francisco was… Read more

Dear constituency list members of the Insolvency Law Committee, the following is a case update analyzing a recent case of interest: SUMMARY In JPMCC 2007–C1 Grasslawn Lodging, LLC v. Transwest Resort Props. Inc. (In re Transwest Resort Props., Inc.), 801 F.3d 1161 (9th Cir. 2015), a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the “Ninth Circuit”) ruled that a creditor’s appeal of a chapter 11 plan confirmation order should not be dismissed on equitable mootness grounds… Read more

Personal and Professional Background United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin R. Barash was sworn in on March 26, 2015, and assigned to serve in the Woodland Hills branch of the Central District of California. He feels as though he won the lottery, both in terms of his new judicial role and the location of his chambers. Indeed, Judge Barash may be the first Woodland Hills-based judge to have grown up locally. Judge Barash attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, received… Read more

In Zachary v. California Bank & Trust, ___ F.3d ___ , 2016 WL 360519 (9th Cir. Jan. 28, 2016) (“Zachary”), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the “Ninth Circuit”) held that the absolute priority rule, codified in section 1129(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Bankruptcy Code, continued to apply to individual chapter 11 cases following the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”).  In so holding, the Ninth Circuit overruled the decision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate… Read more

SUMMARY In Windmill Health Products, LLC v. Sensa Products (Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors), LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145685 (N.D. Cal., Oct. 27, 2015), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held that the Ninth Circuit’s prior ruling that bankruptcy law pre-empted California’s statute permitting an assignee for the benefit of creditors to avoid a preference governed, even though subsequent state court decisions rejected that view. To read the full unpublished decision, click here. FACTS Windmill Health… Read more

SUMMARY In America’s Servicing Co. v. Schwartz-Tallard (In re Schwartz-Tallard), ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 5946342 (9th Cir. Oct. 14, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the “Ninth Circuit”), en banc, held that section 362(k) of the Bankruptcy Code authorizes an award of attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred in a debtor’s prosecution of a suit for damages to provide redress for a violation of the automatic stay.  In so holding, the Ninth Circuit overruled its prior decision in Sternberg v.… Read more

The following is the first in a new series of profiles of 9th Circuit bankruptcy judges. Judge Neil W. Bason and members of the Insolvency Law Committee met in his chambers and discussed his personal and professional background, transition to the bench and other issues of interest. Judge Bason was appointed to the bench in the Central District of California, Los Angeles Division, in October 2011. Prior to his appointment, he was special counsel at Duane Morris LLP and at… Read more

Dear constituency list members of the Insolvency Law Committee, the following is a case update analyzing a recent case of interest: SUMMARY In Shapiro v. Henson (9th Cir. January 9, 2014), in a published decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling affirming the bankruptcy court’s denial of a trustee’s motion for turnover pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 542(a).  The Ninth Circuit held that a trustee may seek recovery from entities having “possession, custody,… Read more

Dear constituency list members of the Insolvency Law Committee, The following is a case update analyzing a recent decision of interest: SUMMARY The United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit (the “BAP”) has affirmed a bankruptcy court’s ruling that individual debtor’s chapter 11 post-petition earnings which are property of the estate under § 1115 revert to him or her upon a subsequent conversion to chapter 7.  Wu v. Markosian (In re Markosian) – 9th Cir. BAP (3/12/14).  Click HERE http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/bap/2014/03/12/Markosian-13-1339.pdfto read… Read more

Dear constituency list members of the Insolvency Law Committee, the following is a recent case update:    SUMMARY On June 12, 2014, in Clark v. Rameker, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that funds held in inherited IRAs are not “retirement funds” within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. §522(b)(3)(C) and are therefore not exempt property.  To read the full decision, click here:  http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/13-299_6k4c.pdf FACTS In 2001, Heidi Heffron-Clark inherited an individual retirement account (“IRA”) worth roughly $450,000 from her mother’s estate.  Heffron-Clark… Read more