In a significant ruling issued on June 29, 2025, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David S. Jones denied the motion of Broadway Realty I Co., LLC and its 81 affiliated debtors (collectively, the “Debtors”) seeking final authorization to...more
When a bankruptcy case is filed, most disputes are addressed through motions and hearings within the main case. However, certain matters demand more formal litigation—complete with a complaint, discovery, and trial. These...more
In a recent decision that highlights a key circuit split, Bankruptcy Judge Patricia M. Mayer of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that equitable powers under Section 105(a) of the Bankruptcy Code cannot be used to...more
I am commonly asked by clients and other lawyers who are frustrated by typical collection efforts if we can place the would-be debtor into an involuntary bankruptcy. The short answer is, yes, it is often possible to place a...more
On January 24, 2025, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia entered an opinion denying a motion for a stay pending an appeal of a settlement motion in In re Hopeman Bros., Inc., No....more
A December 13, 2024, opinion from Judge Walrath held that a 2023 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, 599 U.S. 736 (2023) requires staying prosecution of an adversary proceeding when the...more
In an opinion issued on Sept. 20 by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico, Judge David T. Thuma held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not prevent a bankruptcy court from determining whether...more
In an opinion on January 22nd, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Matter of S. Coast Supply Co., 91 F.4th 376 (5th Cir. 2024), held that preference claims arising under 11 U.S.C. § 547 may be sold, reversing the dismissal...more
Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9006(b) provides that, generally, “when an act is required to be done at or within a specified period by these rules or by a notice given thereunder or by order of court, the court for...more
In Matter of Imperial Petroleum Recovery Corp., 84 F.4th 264 (5th Cir. 2023), the Fifth Circuit was asked to address whether 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a) – the federal statute providing for post-judgment interest – applies in...more
In earlier posts, the Red Zone has discussed the Supreme Court’s ruling in Siegel v. Fitzgerald, 142 S. Ct. 1770 (2022), which held that increased U.S. Trustee quarterly fees for large Chapter 11 debtors between 2018 and 2020...more
In Matter of Texxon Petrochemicals, L.L.C., 67 F.4th 259 (5th Cir. 2023), the Fifth Circuit held that even if an appeal is equitably moot, the appellate court nonetheless has appellate jurisdiction to consider the merits of...more
Section 503(b)(9) Overview -
Ever since its addition to the Bankruptcy Code in 2005, there has been an ongoing debate as to whether electricity is a “good” or a “service” for purposes of section 503(b)(9). If electricity...more
On April 17, 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Matter of RE Palm Springs II, L.L.C., 2023 WL 2966520 (5th Cir. April 17, 2023), held that a senior lender who uses economic leverage and asserts its legal rights to...more
5/9/2023
/ 363 Sales ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors-in-Possession ,
Deed of Trust ,
Default ,
Lenders ,
Mechanics Lien ,
Priority Debt ,
Secured Debt
Back in June of 2022 we discussed the Tenth Circuit’s post-Sigel decision in John Q. Hammons Fall 2006 LLC v. U.S. Trustee (In re John Q. Hammons Fall 2006 LLC), 15 F.4th 1011 (10th Cir. Oct. 5, 2021), which held that the...more
In a previous blog post from June 2022, we discussed the Tenth Circuit’s post-Sigel decision in John Q. Hammons Fall 2006 LLC v. U.S. Trustee (In re John Q. Hammons Fall 2006 LLC), 15 F.4th 1011 (10th Cir. Oct. 5, 2021),...more
2/3/2023
/ Appellate Courts ,
Bankruptcy Appeals ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Fees ,
Jurisdiction ,
Overpayment ,
Refunds ,
SCOTUS ,
Siegel v. Fitzgerald ,
Trustees
Two recent decisions from circuit courts of appeal – the Fifth and Ninth – have addressed a question that does not arise often: in a solvent-debtor chapter 11 case, is the debtor required to pay post-petition interest...more
In a recent decision by the Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, the court held that a chapter 7 trustee could not sell an LLC membership interest pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code because of a transfer...more
On August 18, 2022, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, in In re BWGS, LLC, No. 19-01487-JMC-7A, 2022 WL 3568045 (Bankr. S.D. Ind. Aug. 18, 2022), narrowly interpreted the safe harbor...more
9/28/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Bridge Loan ,
Chapter 7 ,
ESOP ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Loan Payments ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 546(e) ,
Stock Purchase Agreement
Overview -
Although a discharge might not release third parties and protects only the debtor against a determination of personal liability, in In re Le Ctr. on Fourth, LLC, 17 F.4th 1326 (11th Cir. 2021), the Eleventh...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in In re Centro Group, LLC, No. 21-11364, 2021 WL 5158001 (11th Cir. Nov. 5, 2021), in which it clarified the two separate and distinct standards for approving...more
In Lane v. Bank of New York Mellon (In re Lane), No. 18-60059, 2020 WL 2832270 (9th Cir. June 1, 2020), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was asked to decide whether a bankruptcy court may void a lien...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion on December 24, 2019, In re Homebanc Mortgage Crop., No. 18-2887, 2019 WL 7161215(3rd Cir. De. 24, 2019) that has significant consequences for...more
The Bankruptcy Protector has previously provided a succinct summary of all cases decided post-Jevic. In this update, we discuss the cases decided between May 10, 2019 and November 27, 2019....more
In In re FirstEnergy Solutions Corp., 2019 WL 6767004 (6th Cir. Ct. App.), the United States Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded to the bankruptcy court for further consideration, the...more