Business Law

Court) denied a debtor’s motion to abandon an exempt homestead, concluding that pending adversary proceedings which asserted claims that debts were excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2) and (4) could result in decisions which would limit the debtor’s homestead exemption under 11 U.S.C. § 522(q)(1)(B)(ii).  Therefore, abandonment was premature.  In re Oliver, ___ B.R. ___, 2023 WL 2620032 (Bankr. E.D. CA. 3/23/23).  Read more

In a chapter 13 case which pitted the antimodification provisions of § 1322(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code against the preclusive finality of a confirmed plan under § 1327(a), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (the Court) determined that the statutory mandate pertaining to antimodification prevails. Mortgage Corp. of the South v. Bozeman (In re Bozeman), 57 F.4th 895 (11th Cir Jan. 10, 2023). Read more

In a recent published opinion, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (the Court) ruled that if a modification of a proposed chapter 11 plan materially and adversely changed the way that equity holders were treated, they were entitled to a new disclosure statement and a second chance to cast ballots despite their failure to vote on the original plan.  Braun v America-CV Station Group, Inc., 56 F.4th 1302 (11th Cir. Jan. 5, 2023).  Read more

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (the Court) recently held that an order, which arose from a workers’ compensation action, directing a debtor’s employer to deposit funds in debtor’s lawyer’s trust account for payments to medical creditors created an express trust such that the funds were excluded from the debtor’s chapter 7 bankruptcy estate and he was not entitled to claim an exemption in them.  Ryan v. Branko Prpa MD, LLC, 55 F.4th 1108 (7th Cir. 2022). Read more

In Bennetti et al. v. Oxford Restructuring Advisors LLC et al. (In re CPESAZ Liquidating, Inc.), No. CC-22-1090, 2022 WL 18067792 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. Dec. 29, 2022), the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the “BAP”) affirmed the bankruptcy court’s award of fees to the debtors’ law firm over the objection of certain participants in the debtors’ employee stock ownership plan (the “ESOP Participants”). Read more

The banking industry, both within the U.S. and internationally, experienced significant disruption in March 2023. Below is a summary of key events that occurred in March, including events related to the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Santa Clara, CA, and Signature Bank, New York, NY, respectively. Embedded hyperlinks will take readers to relevant source materials. Read more

Plaintiffs suing public entities for medical negligence must meet both Government Claims Act and MICRA deadlines. Read more

In an unpublished decision, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the “BAP”) addressed the standard for challenging a dismissal of a chapter 11 case when it affirmed dismissal of the debtor’s voluntary chapter 11 petition. Read more

Courtesy of CEB, we are bringing you selected legal developments in areas of California business law that are covered by CEB’s publications.  This month’s feature is from the March 2023 update to Understanding Fiduciary Duties in Business Entities.  References are to the book’s section numbers.  The most significant legal developments since the last update include developments in such important topic areas as fiduciary duties in for-profit corporations, fiduciary duties in family businesses, breach of fiduciary duty litigation, and D & O insurance.  Read more

The Spring equinox has arrived in a fabulous fashion, bringing with it a brief intermission to the veritable monsoon season across our glorious, golden state. Read more