Business Law

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Circuit Court) recently applied the earmarking doctrine to determine that a debtor did not have an interest in funds that were used to pay subordinated debt, in contradiction to the terms of a chapter 11 plan.  The decision reversed the Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the BAP), which had reversed the original decision of the bankruptcy court. Read more

In Reznick v. UST (In re DA & AR Hospice Care, Inc.) 2023 WL 6939858 (9th Cir. BAP 10/20/23), the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit ("BAP") held that debtor’s attorney in a corporate Chapter 11 case filed the bankruptcy in bad faith, committed fraud on the court, and violated Rule 11. Read more

In Trinity Financial Services, LLC v. Treadwell, 2023 WL 7107283 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 27, 2023), the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (“District Court”) held that the Chapter 13 creditor’s actions, after it learned of its avoided lien, did not meet the standard for seeking relief under Rule 60 for excusable neglect. Read more

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Court) ruled that a debtor who successfully fended off a motion to dismiss her bankruptcy case for abuse under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) was not entitled to recover the attorney’s fees incurred in defense of the motion under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) because the motion was not a “civil action”. Read more

Insurance Code section 533 does not bar coverage for employment retaliation claims under Labor Code section 1102.5, subdivision (c).  City of Whittier v. Everest National Insurance Co. (2023) 97 Cal.App.5th 895. Read more

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (the Court) declined to allow a chapter 13 debtor to cure a prepetition arrearage on a house which had been owned by the debtor’s parents.  Read more

The following regulatory information may be of interest to attorneys practicing insurance law. This information is current as of January 16, 2024. Read more

The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the BAP) recently ruled in a published opinion that a chapter 13 debtor may not sell co-owned property free and clear of debt secured by which the nondebtor’s interest in the property. In re Groves, 652 B.R. 104 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2023). Read more

Since 1872, California has favored open competition and declared, with limited exceptions, that contractual provisions restraining an individual from ”engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business” are void.  California Business & Professions Code § 16600. Read more

On March 28, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona affirmed a bankruptcy court’s decision to allocate sale proceeds pro rata between the tax-and-interest component and the penalty component of a tax lien avoided under Bankruptcy Code § 724(a). Matter of Freeman, No. 3:20-BK-10338-DPC, 2023 WL 2665735 (D. Ariz. Mar. 28, 2023). Read more