Business Law

   The 2016 Cybersecurity Law (“CSL”) is the first top-level legislation imposing a data localization requirement on the operators of critical information infrastructure (“CII”) in China. Read more

Colorado Bankruptcy Court grants motion to convert case from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, concluding that debtor’s bad faith filing did not justify dismissal of the case despite debtor's possible ownership interests in cannabis-related entities, as conversion to Chapter 7 was in the best interest of creditors.  See In re Roberts, 644 B.R. 220 (Bankr. D. Colorado 2022).  Read more

In a recent opinion, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas (the Court) ruled that when the contingency on a chapter 13 debtor’s interest in trust property was removed post petition, the value of that interest became property of the bankruptcy estate, was subject to the best interest of creditors’ test, and therefore must be distributed to unsecured creditors by way of a modified chapter 13 plan.  In re Wright, 2022 WL 17661135 (Bankr. D. Kan. Dec. 13, 2022). Read more

On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(2)(A) bars a debtor from discharging a debt “obtained by … fraud,” regardless of her mental culpability with respect to incurring the debt. Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, No. 21-908, slip opinion, 506 U.S. ___ (2023). Read more

On the heels of the highly successful California Lawyers Association (“CLA”) Leadership Meeting last January in Monterey, I am very pleased to report that our Section is busier than ever, engaging its members on multiple fronts. 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 February 2023 update to Financing and Protecting California Businesses. 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 arbitration, federal and state securities law, loan financing, cybersecurity, tax matters, and board diversity requirements. Read more

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held in In re Wansdown Properties Corp. N.V., 647 B.R. 23 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2022), that genuine issues of material fact precluded summary judgment on the defendant’s summary judgment motion on constructive fraudulent transfer claims but granted the debtor’s motion for partial summary judgment because the defendant’s affirmative defenses of unclean hands and fraud were inapplicable to avoidance action claims as a matter of law.  Read more

A mandatory elder abuse reporter’s absolute statutory immunity applies to making a knowingly false report. Read more

In an unpublished but analytical opinion, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Tenth Circuit (the BAP) recently affirmed a bankruptcy court decision which held that under the Limited Liability Company Act of Oklahoma (the Act) a chapter 7 trustee may not sell or assign a debtor member’s purely economic interests in Limited Liability Companies(“LLCs”) without complying with restrictions on such transfers contained in the LLCs’ Operating Agreements. Malloy v Kramer (In re Kramer), 2022 WL 17176411 (10th Cir. BAP Nov. 23, 2022).   Read more

On October 7, 2022 the California Court of Appeal, First District, Division 4 (“Court of Appeals”) reversed the trial court’s Anti-SLAPP order striking the complaint filed by Kacie Lynn Young (“Plaintiff”), and held that Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.17 incorporates into the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act the strict liability standard of 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e) for false statements made in collecting a debt or regarding the legal status of the debt.  To review, click here. Read more