Bill on Bankruptcy: What's in the $83M ResCap Examiner's Report?
This blog previously covered the Supreme Court’s decision in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U.S. 69 (2023), which held that, under Section 523(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code, an individual debtor may not discharge through...more
On April 25, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its precedential opinion in Mallinckrodt v. Sanofi-Aventis, Case No. 23-1111, reminding everyone that “creditors take on risks” when it ruled that the debtor...more
Bankruptcy offers debtors an opportunity for a "fresh start," the primary draw for many individuals seeking to unburden themselves of their debt. A bankruptcy discharge relieves a debtor of their legal obligation to repay...more
On average, the Supreme Court hears a single bankruptcy case each term. But during the October 2022 term, the Supreme Court issued a remarkable four decisions in bankruptcy cases. These decisions, which are summarized below,...more
The United States Supreme Court recently answered the question of whether a debtor in bankruptcy can discharge a debt resulting from another person’s fraud, even if the debtor is not aware of the fraud. On February 22, 2023,...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
In Hilal K. Homaidan v. Sallie Mae, Inc., Navient Solutions, LLC, Navient Credit Finance Corporation, Case No. 20-1981 (2d Cir. 2021), the Second Circuit affirmed the opinion of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern...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
In a unanimous, and perhaps unsurprising, decision, the Supreme Court determined that a creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating the discharge injunction if there is “no fair ground of doubt” as to whether the...more
In In re Muhs, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit was called upon to decide whether “the meaning of ‘willful and malicious’ under Alaska law is identical to the meaning of ‘willful and malicious’ under...more
If the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) fines an employer for unlawfully firing workers who tried to unionize, can the employer discharge the fine in bankruptcy, or will the exception to discharge found in Bankruptcy...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
In a recent decision pitting the Bankruptcy Code against the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a creditor could not compel arbitration of a debtor's class action claims...more
The Bankruptcy Code prevents an individual debtor from discharging certain debts, including, upon request of the creditor, debts for “fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity.” 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4). The...more