The Supreme Court recently issued an opinion, resolving a circuit split, narrowing the sovereign immunity exception by limiting a trustee’s ability to pursue avoidance actions against the government when such action invokes...more
A discharge in bankruptcy usually discharges a debtor from the debtor’s liabilities. Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code, however, sets forth certain exceptions to this policy, including for “any debt . . . for money,...more
The Situation: Circuit courts were split on whether mere retention by a creditor of estate property violates the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay, under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(3). The U.S. Supreme Court considered the question in...more
In a recent appeal directly to the Fifth Circuit from a Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court, the court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration. In Henry v. Educational Financial...more
On June 4, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No. 16-1215, 138 S. Ct. 1752, 2018 WL 2465174 (U.S. June 4, 2018), that an individual debtor's false statement about a single asset, as...more
Section 523(a)(2)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that a discharge under the Bankruptcy Code does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt for money, property, services, or an extension, renewal, or refinancing of...more
In my last article, I discussed how the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a Chapter 7 debtor’s discharge because the debtor intentionally lowballed the value of his interest in a real estate investment...more
The Supreme Court held that a statement about a single asset can be a “statement respecting the debtor’s financial condition” for purposes of determining the application of the exception to discharge set forth in Section...more
The recent decision from the United States Supreme Court in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling (“Lamar”), further restricts a creditor’s ability to pursue future recovery on its debt through a nondischargeability action...more
On June 4, the Supreme Court decided Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No. 16-1215, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Sotomayor. The Court affirmed the Eleventh Circuit and resolved a circuit split about the meaning of...more
The U.S. Supreme Court resolved a dispute about whether debts obtained by false promises to pay (or fraud) can be discharged in bankruptcy. On June 4, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion affirming the U.S. Court...more
On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion authored by Justice Sotomayor in Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling impacting the discharge of debts under Bankruptcy Code § 523(a)(2)(A)....more
On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, No. 16-1215, holding that a statement about a single asset can be a “statement respecting the debtor’s financial...more