Rochelle's Daily Wire

Although averse to third-party releases in chapter 11 plans, the Fifth Circuit will allow bankruptcy courts to enforce releases given by one third party to another.

Can a state law properly decree when a debtor’s property drops out of the estate?

Despite Fulton, a Chicago bankruptcy judge rules that the City of Chicago might have violated Section 362(a)(4), (a)(6) or (a)(7) by refusing to release impounded cars immediately after a debtor files a chapter 13 petition.

Persuasive authority is required before a creditor can be held in contempt for violating the automatic stay protecting a corporate debtor.

Deducting a discharged loan to a child from her inheritance didn’t violate the discharge injunction.

The BAP decision may have a hint that failure to stop proceedings after bankruptcy can be an automatic stay violation, even after Fulton.

In dicta, the Ninth Circuit BAP says that equitable estoppel cannot be applied against a debtor in view of the debtor’s fiduciary responsibilities.

Even when the debtors are not parties to the suit, the stay is violated when a creditor pursues an action to collect a debt owing by the debtors, so says the Ninth Circuit BAP.

Stay modification is required even if the creditor wants to intervene in state court to help the bankrupt estate.

The Ninth Circuit B.A.P. says that the automatic stay does not require dismissal of prepetition lawsuits against debtors.