Business Law

In Sienega v. California Franchise Tax Board (In re Sienega), 18 F.4th 1164 (9th Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the “Court”) held that faxes sent by a debtor to the California Franchise Tax Board (the “FTB”), notifying the FTB of adjustments to the debtor’s federal tax liability, did not constitute “returns” within the meaning of section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. Read more

In Citigroup, Inc. v. Bruce (In re Bruce), 2021 WL 6111925 (No. 21-CV-7455 (CV)) (S.D.N.Y. December 27, 2021) (“Bruce”), finding that there was no controlling authority in the Supreme Court or the Second Circuit, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) granted the appellant banks’ motion to certify for direct appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Circuit Court”) the Bankruptcy Court’s order denying the banks’ motion to dismiss the debtor’s complaint asserting a nationwide class action against the banks seeking damages and contempt for violation of a discharge order and injunction. Read more

Kasondra Torres filed a class action lawsuit against Hanford Community Hospital, seeking declaratory relief that the hospital’s nondisclosure of its intent to charge a $3,200 emergency room evaluation and management service (EMS) fee, in addition to fees for each treatment and service provided, violated the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA). Read more

The debtor, Family Friendly Contracting LLC (the “Debtor”), filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition under Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Read more

A Dignity Health hospital dismissed Dr. Noushin Khoiny after her second year of a three-year internal medicine residency. Read more

The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the BAP) recently ruled that state laws which provide for attorney’s fee awards are applicable in bankruptcy litigation only if they are connected to the substance of the claims and are not dependent on misconduct or improper purpose of parties or attorneys. Read more

State Farm’s insured submitted an uninsured motorist claim, which ended up in arbitration. State Farm propounded requests for admission which the insured failed to answer timely. Read more

In Persinger v. Southwest Credit Systems, 2021 WL 6058148 (7th Circuit) (“Persinger”), the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (the “Court”) held that a loan servicer that got notice of a debtor’s discharge after making a credit inquiry was not guilty of a willful violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, particularly in light of the reasonable general practices the servicer employed to avoid violations even though those practices arguably failed in this specific instance. Read more

Critical access hospitals provide 24-hour emergency services at remote rural locations. They are limited to 25 inpatient beds. They may not provide nonemergency inpatient care for more than 96 hours; persistently sick patients must be transferred to a larger hospital. Read more

On December 16, 2021, Judge Colleen McMahon of the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, vacated the order confirming Purdue Pharma’s Chapter 11 plan of re-organization, holding that the bankruptcy court had no power to impose a non-consensual release by third parties of their direct claims against non-debtors. Read more