Business Law

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In an unpublished decision, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the “BAP”) addressed the standard for challenging a dismissal of a chapter 11 case when it affirmed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

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

Hotel that lost business during COVID-19 shut-downs did not show it lost business income due to “direct physical loss or damage” of its property entitling it to insurance coverage. Best Rest Motel, Inc. v. Sequoia Insurance Company (2023) __ Cal.App.5th __. Read more

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (the Court) recently ruled that the bankruptcy removal statute did not permit taxpayers to remove the federal government’s suit seeking to reduce tax liabilities to judgment to the bankruptcy court, notwithstanding the debtors’ assertions that the tax liability was discharged in a prior chapter 7 case.  Read more